Can Xylella disease in olives be controlled?
How far are we in developing treatment and preventive solutions?
What is the situation in Italy?

These were the issues discussed during this year’s Xylella Forum organised by the BIOVEXO project in Apulia in October 2021. A large number of participants, not least from the farmers’ community, clearly indicated how much expectation there is on research.

Some of the key messages from the discussion:

• There is an urgent need to raise farmers awareness and responsibility, particularly in the buffer and containment areas, to apply regional sanitary prescriptions for vector control and containment measures.
• Farmers and general public in the “North” of Apulia and beyond need to be made aware of the drasticity of the situation in the “South” of Apulia.
• There is an urgent need to develop biocontrol solutions to implement in an IPM strategy.
• Farmers need financial and technical support for removal of infected trees, grafting, and replacement of susceptible cultivars with resistant ones.
• Public administration needs to rely on science to propose reasonable and effective measures and to deliver proper communication campaign.

If you are interested in the presentations from the Forum, click here, for the list of speakers here.

Thanks to the organisers and all those who contributed to the success of the Forum!