Xylella fastidiosa in the Mediterranean Basin

Authors

  • Vicente Dalmau-Sorlí Generalitat Valenciana
  • Amparo Ferrer-Matoses Generalitat Valenciana
  • Josep A. Jaques-Miret Universitat Jaume I (UJI)
  • Miguel A. Miranda Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB)
  • Antonio Vicent Institut Valencià d’Investigacions Agràries (IVIA)

Keywords:

plant health, quarantine, Balearic Islands, Alicante, plant-pathogenic bacteria, vector insects.

Abstract

Xylella fastidiosa Wells, Raju, Hung, Weisburg, Parl & Beemer (Gammaproteobacteria, Xanthomonadales, Xanthomonadaceae) is a bacterium causing different plant diseases, some of which are severe and currently incurable. Due to its American origin, its limited presence in the European Union (EU), and the serious consequences of further introductions and spread, this bacterium is considered a quarantine pest. In 2013, X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca was detected for the first time in the Mediterranean Basin in Puglia, southern
Italy, seriously affecting olive trees in that area with the olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS), a lethal disease for most commercial olive varieties. Subsequently, new outbreaks of the subspecies pauca, multiplex and fastidiosa have been detected and are currently under official control throughout the northwestern quadrant of the Mediterranean Basin and Israel. Three insect species in the family Aphrophoridae (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea) are proven vectors of this pathogen in Europe. These are Neophilaenus campestris Fallén, Philaenus italosignus Drosopoulos & Remane and Philaenus spumarius L. These species are univoltine and overwinter on herbaceous hosts, where they reproduce, invading crops when these plants dry out in late spring. Although eradication has been the prime phytosanitary measure established by the EU regulation against this pathogen since its first detection, the extent and geographical features of the affected area have determined that in some cases, as in the Balearic Islands and southern Italy, containment strategies have been prescribed for the purpose of preventing the spread of the pathogen to other territories. In the medium and long terms, the management of this pathogen is addressed to obtaining varieties that are either tolerant or resistant to X. fastidiosa. This is currently the case of olive trees in Italy. Given the great social importance of the problems caused by this pathogen, activities aimed at raising awareness among the population are considered an essential part of the solution.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Vicente Dalmau-Sorlí, Generalitat Valenciana

Conselleria d’Agricultura, Desenvolupament Rural, Emergència Climàtica i Transició Ecològica, Generalitat Valenciana, València

Amparo Ferrer-Matoses, Generalitat Valenciana

Conselleria d’Agricultura, Desenvolupament Rural, Emergència Climàtica i Transició Ecològica, Generalitat Valenciana, València

Josep A. Jaques-Miret, Universitat Jaume I (UJI)

Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castelló de la Plana

Miguel A. Miranda, Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB)

Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), grup de recerca de Zoologia Aplicada i de la Conservació, Palma de Mallorca

Departament de Producció i Protecció Agroalimentària, Institut de Recerca Agroambiental i d’Economia de l’Aigua
(INAGEA), Palma de Mallorca

Antonio Vicent, Institut Valencià d’Investigacions Agràries (IVIA)

Institut Valencià d’Investigacions Agràries (IVIA), Centre de Protecció Vegetal i Biotecnologia, Montcada (València)

Downloads

Issue

Section

Articles