Have you heard of Xylella fastidiosa? It is one of the most threatening pathogens to global plant health and agriculture. Just take a look at the aftermath of Xylella fastidiosa in an olive orchard in southern Italy in the picture below. See something missing? Yes, that’s correct, the olive trees! They all died and had to be removed! Xylella is without a doubt one of the worst, and most deadly, plant pathogens, and that’s why it deserves our undivided attention.
What is Xylella fastidiosa?
Well, we do have a separate blog post on that, but, in short, Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogen which is transmitted by xylem feeding pests such as Philaenus spumarius (commonly known as the spittlebug). When an infected insect starts feeding on the xylem fluid (plant sap), the bacterium can be transmitted to the plant and from there everything starts spiralling downwards… the plants to wilt and lose their vigour, slowly, the plant starts to die from inside out, as if it was drying itself or starving itself from within. After some time, the symptoms become more and more severe, eventually leading to plant death. It is always just a matter of time. Any insects that feed on the plant can potentially pass the bacteria on to new plants: the disease keeps spreading and there is no cure.
This is exactly why this pathogen is so dangerous. Once the plant is infected, it’s game over for the plant.
Hence, finding a cure for Xyllela fastidiosa has never been more important. It is so important, that it has been added to the list of EU’s top 20 priority pests.
7 reasons why Xylella fastidiosa is so dangerous
1. There is no cure for Xylella fastidiosa
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, there is no cure for Xylella fastidiosa. Not yet anyway. Since there is no cure, it has caused extreme devastation in southern Europe, especially in Apulia (Italy). Trees that were many centuries old have been destroyed. Newly infected regions unfortunately share the same fate unless EU science finds a cure!
Hence recognising the threat of Xylella fastidiosa is extremely important if we want to sustain our future and achieve a green recovery of Europe.
2. Symptoms can be misleading
Xylella fastidiosa symptoms are known to be quite misleading. Often, people misidentify the symptoms for classic cases of plant dehydration or simply think that the plant has had too much sun. Nevertheless, leaf scorching and wilting is just the beginning. These mild signs of the infection often lead to more severe symptoms such as dieback and leaf abscission.
That’s when you’ll know that the pathogen has really kicked in and that there is no turning back. The nutrient flow of the plant becomes completely blocked and the plant starts to die slowly from within.
If you suspect that your plant may have Xylella fastidiosa, you will need to make a test. Even mild symptoms can be early signs of something more severe!
3. Xylella can infect over 500 types of plants
Not all plants are affected by Xylella fastidiosa. However, there are almost 600 species of plants which are either at risk of being affected by Xylella fastidiosa or being potential hosts. These types of plants include a variety of olive trees, lavender, oleander, ash, and many more. That’s another reason Xylella is so dangerous: it affects a variety of plants.
Luckily, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has established a database which identifies species of plants which host Xylella fastidiosa. If you suspect that your plant may have Xylella, it is best to first identify whether the plant even belongs to the species list before panicking. If it does, you will need to alert your local plant health authorities so that they can conduct appropriate tests to determine whether your plant has been infected or not.
4. Infections are spreading quickly across Europe
In fact, Xylella fastidiosa spreads approximately 2 km per month in the infected region. For this reason, new legislative measures were put in place by the European Commission as means of controlling the quick rate of new infections.
5. Containment measures mean uprooting infected plants and burning them
The fact that the European Commission introduced EU regulations to prevent the introduction and spread of Xylella fastidiosa is evidence that Xylella is very dangerous to Europe. Places where Xylella have been found must undergo a containment zone, in compliance with EU Regulation 2020/1201.
Infected plants must be uprooted or destroyed by means of burning them. Now take a moment to imagine the tragedy of a farmer having to intentionally destroy a magnificent 1,500 year old olive tree.
6. Effects on the economy
Xylella fastiodosa has severe agro-economic repercussions in the region where infections are borne. Just this year, the production of olive oil decreased by a staggering 26% in Italy as compared to 2019 due to Xylella, as stated by The Guardian.
On top of that, thousands of jobs have been lost on the account of farms and nurseries being abandoned.
As the number of new Xylella fastidiosa infections grow in the Mediterranean region, the amount of olive oil produced is expected to decline more.
7. Xylella is considered one of the EU’s top 20 pests
As regards sustaining and protecting global plant health, Xylella fastidiosa has been identified as one of the top 20 priority pests by the European Commission. This showcases the severity of the pathogen.
In response to the Xylella outbreak, the European Commission funded multiple actions to combat the problem of Xylella fastidiosa. These include projects such as XF Actors, COST, PonTe, CURE XF, Life Resilience and BIOVEXO.
BIOVEXO Project
BIOVEXO is an EU-funded innovation action, which demonstrates a set of novel biopesticides for curative and preventive cases for Xylella fastidiosa and its vectors. The consortium will test a set of six candidate solutions.
The BIOVEXO project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 887281. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio Based Industries Consortium.
To learn more about the BIOVEXO project and the research plan, click here.
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