Xylella updates
The latest information on detections of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe and research outcomes produced by the XF-ACTORS consortiumThe spittlebug and the fly
Biology and Prevalence in Northern Italy of Verrallia aucta (Diptera, Pipunculidae), a Parasitoid of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae), the Main Vector of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe. The spread of Xylella fastidiosa depends almost exclusively on insect...
The spider sense for the olive groves spittlebug
A Guild-Based Protocol to Target Potential Natural Enemies of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), a Vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Xanthomonadaceae): A Case Study with Spiders in the Olive Grove. The control of the vector population is an essential part of...
Environmental drivers of microbiome composition
Soil microbial communities from olive cultivars are shaped by seasonality and geographical scales. Soil biodiversity is essential for ecosystems and plant health. Understanding soil microbiome is becoming more and more relevant for supporting plant productivity and...
Looking for microbial pockets of resistance
Differences in the Endophytic Microbiome of Olive Cultivars Infected by Xylella fastidiosa across Seasons. The study of microbial endophytes is a promising research area for selecting possible biocontrol agents against Xylella fastidiosa. Plant scientists have already...
Exploring the olive xylem microbiome
Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Characterization of the Olive Xylem Microbiota: Effect of Sap Extraction Methods. The influence of endophytic bacteria on plants and animals’ response to infections is renowned, although many details are still missing....
XF-ACTORS deliverables: a resource
You can stay updated and read our project’s deliverable, results and publlications via CORDIS...
Phylogenetic inference enables reconstruction of a long-overlooked outbreak of almond leaf scorch disease (Xylella fastidiosa) in Europe
In Majorca, Balearic Islands (Spain), almond trees have experienced severe decline and mortality over the last 15 years. The Almond Leaf Scorch Disease (ALSD) was preliminarily studied from 2008 to 2010 and was associated with a complex of fungal trunk pathogens and...
Population structure and adaptation of a bacterial pathogen in California grapevines
Understanding pathogen evolution and the origin of pathogenicity and virulence remain central to mitigate the impacts and risks of plant pathogens. Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa causes Pierce’s Disease of grapevine and has been present in California for...
Update on Plant health – Measures to control the bacterial pest Xylella fastidiosa
Last week the EU Commission launched the public consultation for implementing the regulation on measures to control Xylella fastidiosa. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/7892 has been applied since May 2015 with the aim to prevent further spread within and...
Guidelines for statistically sound and risk‐based surveys of Xylella fastidiosa
At the request of the European Commission, to support the EU Member States, EFSA prepared specific guidelines for the survey of Xylella fastidiosa. The guidelines include three different survey designs: detection surveys to substantiate pest freedom; delimiting...
Impacts of local population history and ecology on the evolution of a globally dispersed pathogen
Xylella fastidiosa is reported in over 563 plant species from 82 botanical families worldwide, but we cannot consider it a simply ‘generalist’ bacterium. Its capacity to successfully colonize and cause disease in naïve hosts varies with subspecies and populations....
Citrus Variegated Chlorosis: an Overview of 30 Years of Research and Disease Management
First reported in the São Paulo state in Brazil in 1987, the citrus variegated chlorosis disease (CVC) affected approximately 100 million sweet orange trees in the region 20 years later. However, current estimates indicate that the number of diseased trees has been...
Genome-Scale Investigation of the Metabolic Determinants Generating Bacterial Fastidious Growth
One of the main challenges in studying Xylella fastidiosa is that the bacterium has a fastidious in vitro growth, i.e., it is difficult to isolate and culture. That characteristic is one of the reasons why a formal description and naming of X. fastidiosa as the causal...
Xylella: 37 new plant species added to host list
Thirty-seven new plant species have been identified as hosts of the Xylella fastidiosa pathogen. Most were naturally (not artificially) infected and were found both in EU countries (France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and non-EU countries (USA and Iran). The new hosts...
Emergence of a Plant Pathogen in Europe Associated with Multiple Intercontinental Introductions
Knowing the origin of exotic plant pathogens introduced into a naïve territory can make the difference in managing the damages they can cause to the local economy and biodiversity. In the particular case of Xylella fastidiosa, the fact that this bacterium is present...
Xylella fastidiosa found on olive trees in France
Last Friday France’s agriculture ministry said that two decorative olive trees in the PACA region (southern France) were found to be infected with Xylella fastidiosa. The two plants were one in Antibes and the other in Menton: the last one was infected by the same...
Revealed: The secret life of the spittlebug
Citizen scientists have provided a wealth of new data on a curious insect that makes blobs of spittle on plants. More than 11,000 sightings of the spittlebug, or froghopper, have been recorded across the UK, with the south of England proving a stronghold. The...
First report of Xylella fastidiosa in Israel
The NPPO of Israel recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of Xylella fastidiosa (EPPO A2 List) on its territory. During a survey carried out in 2017-2018, a few symptomatic almond (Prunus dulcis) trees were discovered and subsequently eradicated....
Xylella update: still no cure, control measures crucial
EFSA has updated its assessment of the risks posed by Xylella fastidiosa to plants and crops in the European Union. The new assessment provides new insights and conclusions on controlling existing outbreaks of this pest and preventing further spread in the EU....
Xylella fastidiosa in Tuscany (Italy): typing of the strains revealed the occurrence of a novel sequence type – ST87
In the framework of the project XF-ACTORS the genetic characterization of the strains cultured from different hosts identified in the outbreak discovered last December in Tuscany, has been completed revealing that a single and novel genotype – denoted “Sequence Type...
Exploitation of research projects outcomes: the ongoing program for monitoring and control of Xylella-vectors in the demarcated area of Apulia (southern Italy)
The identification of the first European vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, studies on their biology and host preference have been deeply investigated in the last three years in the framework of a dedicated procurement funded by EFSA and within several tasks of the H2020...
Monte Argentario: some plants affected by the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium
Given the dangerousness of the pathogen and the proximity of Tuscany to the infected areas of Puglia, France and Corsica, the Regional Plant Health Service has undertaken a series of actions in the area aimed at the surveillance, monitoring and control of Xylella...
New finding of Xylella infections in olives in Apulia (southern Italy)
Last December the Regional Plant Authority officially reported the finding of a new outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa in Apulia (southern Italy). The bacterium was detected by serological and molecular tests in an olive tree sampled in the framework of the current...
First Identification of Xylella fastidiosa in Portugal
On January 8th 2019, the Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária, the Portuguese Services of the Government, noticed the first identification of Xylella fastidiosa in Portugal (see the annex | .pdf) The identification occurred in an asymptomatic plant of Lavanda...
First European detection of Xylella fastidiosa in a apricot-tree in the province of Alicante
On November 12 the Conselleria de Agricultura, Medio Ambiente, Cambio Climático y Desarrollo Rural reported 201 new positive results for Xylella fastidiosa in the province of Alicante, Spain. Most of them, 193, correspond to almond trees, 4 to Polygala myrtifolia, 2...
Xylella fastidiosa in Corsica
The results of an official inter-ministerial joint mission, to gather information on the situation of Xylella fastidiosa and the implications for the transition of Corsica from eradication measures to containment measures, have been published by the French Ministry of...
Xylella: updated the list of hosts, up to 563 plant species now included in the EFSA database
The European Food Safety Authority published two scientific reviews updating the current knowledge and understanding on Xylella fastidiosa. The first document, published in July 2018 provides an update on the pest categorisation of Xylella fastidiosa. It contains the...
New hosts infected by Xylella detected in the province of Alicante, Spain
On July 2018, 30 new plants infected by Xylella fastidiosa have been detected in mainland Spain, in the province of Alicante. In addition to almonds, Xylella has been found in other plants typical of the Mediterranean ecosystem, such as Polygala myrtifolia. All the...
Efficacy of natural and synthetic insecticides against Philaenus spumarius tested in Apulia
Published online in open access a summary of the field experiments carried out in olive orchards in Apulia from 2015 to 2017 to evaluate the efficacy of different natural and synthetic insecticides against Philaenus spumarius, the main vector of Xylella fastidiosa. A...
New positive results for Xylella confirmed on almond trees in the province of Alicante, Spain
On May 2018, 33 new positive results for Xylella fastidiosa from 25 plots of almond trees were detected in Spain in the province of Alicante. The findings occurred within the Demarcated Area, therefore the area is unchanged from the update of February 2018. At...
Three Polygala myrtifolia plants found positive to Xylella fastidiosa in Andalusia, Spain
Three Polygala myrtifolia plants have been reported positive to the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in the municipality of El Ejido, Almería province, community of Andalusia. The finding, which occurred in a greenhouse of a nursery, has been officially communicated to...
First detection of Xylella fastidiosa in olive trees in mainland Spain
An olive tree in the municipality of Villarejo, community of Madrid, has been reported positive to the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The finding has been officially confirmed by the Spanish plant health authorities, thus a demarcated area around the olive tree has...
Research outcomes on Xylella fastidiosa published by XF-ACTORS and POnTE projects
The main achievements obtained up to date in the research on the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa by POnTE and XF-ACTORS – projects funded by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 programme – have been resumed in a technical report that summarizes the...
Hebe spp., a new host plant of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 in Apulia
A new plant species, the thirty-first in a row since the discovery of the outbreak in Apulia, has been identified as a host of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53, within the framework of POnTE activities dedicated to studying the pathogenicity and biology of the...
New information on the occurrence of Xylella fastidiosa in candidate vector in Corsica (France)
A large survey on the vector of Xylella fastidiosa, the spittlebug Philaenus spumarius, has been conducted over the 2 past years in Corsica by the research team of INRA Montpellier, partner of XF-ACTORS. More than 2500 specimens have been sampled with 448 screened for...
Ongoing efforts to avoid the spread of Xylella in mainland Spain
The results of the surveys for Xylella fastidiosa conducted in the demarcated area in Alicante province have been updated on December 2017, with 20 new almond orchards declared positive. For the first time, spittlebugs Philaenus spumarius individuals have been found...
Pictures of the symptoms caused by Xylella fastidiosa in host plants
The following links provide collections of pictures showing symptoms associated with the presence of Xylella fastidiosa in susceptible host plants in the different Countries where the pathogen is known to occur Overview on the symptoms of major diseases caused by X....
Dynamic map gathers and shows data of the surveys for Xylella fastidiosa in Apulia
A map showing the distribution of Xylella fastidiosa in Apulia from 2013 to 2016 has been produced by researchers of XF-ACTORS project, using the data provided by the Apulian Phytosanitary Authority and Innovapuglia. RED DOTS: Samples positives for X. fastidiosa...
Summary of the last detections of Xylella fastidiosa within the demarcated areas in Italy and mainland Spain
SPAIN On last October 20, 2017 the Regional Government of Comunitat Valenciana (Spain) officially communicated 61 positive results for X. fastidiosa from new 58 plots of almond trees in Alicante province, all of them within the demarcated area delimited after the...
New detection of Xylella fastidiosa within the demarcated area in mainland Spain
On 24 July, the Regional Government of Comunitat Valenciana confirmed a new detection of Xylella fastidiosa in the demarcated area of Alicante province, where the pathogen was first reported in mainland Spain on 29 June. This new positive result was found during the...
First detection of Xylella fastidiosa in mainland Spain
On June 30, the Regional Government of Comunitat Valenciana (Conselleria d’Agricultura, Medi Ambient, Canvi Climàtic i Desenvolupament Rural) confirmed the presence of Xylella fastidiosa in an almond orchard in Guadalest, a municipality of Marina Baixa district...
CMCC Foundation “Xylella fastidiosa: how science tries to save olive trees”
Originally published on March 28, 2017 in the CMCC Foundation website. The CMCC Foundation is among the 29 partners of XF-ACTORS Consortium. A great attention in the Apulia region to the problem. But it’s starting to become a reason of concern in other European...
XF-ACTORS – Xylella Fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy
Contributed by: Sustainable Communication An EU funded project that establishes a multidisciplinary research program to answer the urgent need to improve prevention for the control of diseases caused by Xylella fastidiosa. On 1 November 2016, XF-ACTORS project...
Europe Joins Forces to Fight Xylella Fastidiosa.
By Ylenia Granitto One of the projects that will be developed within the framework of Europe’s Horizon 2020 program for research and innovation carried out over the period from 2014 to 2020 is called XF-ACTORS. It consists of a multidisciplinary research plan which...
Combined Efforts and Encouraging Outcomes at International Seminar on Xylella Fastidiosa
By Ylenia Granitto The International Olive Council (IOC) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies CIHEAM organized an international seminar on Xylella fastidiosa from 28 to 30 November at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Bari,...
XF-Actors: nuevo proyecto de la UE para el control de enfermedades causadas por Xylella fastidiosa
Las recientes detecciones de Xylella fastidiosa en la UE, bacteria que provoca graves enfermedades en cultivos de gran interés e importancia económica, han favorecido la puesta en marcha del proyecto XF-ACTORS, creado en el marco del programa europeo HORIZONTE 2020....
Xylella, focolaio a Martina è allarme rosso in Puglia
di MARCO MANGANO Un focolaio a Martina Franca: la Xylella Fastidiosa assesta un altro colpo doloroso agli uliveti di Puglia. Trema la valle d’Itria: dopo Ostuni, crocevia fra le province di Brindisi e Bari, lo sbarco nell’elegante città tarantina suscita non solo...