Researchers warn of disease threatening Morocco’s Argan trees

Researchers and environmental observers are raising alarm over a new disease affecting Argan tree forests in southern Morocco, warning that the condition could pose a serious threat to one of the country’s most emblematic natural resources.

According to reports highlighted in the Moroccan weekly Al Ousboue Assahafi, the disease has recently been detected in several argan groves and appears to be spreading in parts of the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the Souss region.

Researchers fear the situation could mirror the ecological damage caused in recent years by the spread of the cochineal insect, which devastated large areas of cactus plantations and severely reduced the production of prickly pear fruit in areas such as Chtouka Ait Baha Province, Souss and Ait Baamrane.