Xylella Fastidiosa Identified in Extremadura

Summary

Plant health author­i­ties in Extremadura have iden­ti­fied Xylella fas­tidiosa in the autonomous com­mu­nity, enact­ing con­tain­ment and erad­i­ca­tion mea­sures, includ­ing the imme­di­ate elim­i­na­tion of infected plants and estab­lish­ment of buffer zones. The fas­tidiosa sub­species was found in rock­roses, Cytisus plants, and laven­der in Valencia de Alcántara, with no infected olive trees iden­ti­fied, and sim­i­lar out­breaks have been reported in neigh­bor­ing Portugal and the Balearic Islands.

Plant health author­i­ties in Extremadura have iden­ti­fied Xyellla fas­tidiosa in the autonomous com­mu­nity and enacted con­tain­ment and erad­i­ca­tion mea­sures.

Authorities said the fas­tidiosa sub­species (Xylella fas­tidiosa fas­tidiosa) of the deadly plant pathogen was iden­ti­fied in two types of rock­roses, two species of Cytisus plants and laven­der in the hilly region of Valencia de Alcántara in the province of Cáceres.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, Xylella fas­tidiosa is not known to nat­u­rally infect olive trees, and author­i­ties con­firmed that no infected olive trees were iden­ti­fied.

The pauca and mul­ti­plex sub­species infect olive trees and cause Olive Quick Decline Syndrome, which has no cure and has been iden­ti­fied in other Spanish regions.

Extremaduran plant health offi­cials also launched the erad­i­ca­tion pro­to­col, which includes the imme­di­ate elim­i­na­tion of all infected plants sus­cep­ti­ble to the fas­tidiosa sub­species in a 50-meter radius, the estab­lish­ment of a 2.5‑kilometer buffer zone, insec­ti­ci­dal treat­ments against vec­tor species and the start of a sur­veil­lance pro­gram.

Extremadura is Spain’s third-largest olive oil-pro­duc­ing region, yield­ing 68,997 tons of olive oil in the 2023/24 crop year, of which 8,220 tons were pro­duced in Cáceres.

The same fas­tidiosa sub­species has been present in neigh­bor­ing Portugal since 2019, with mul­ti­plex sub­species iden­ti­fied around the north­ern city of Oporto in 2023.

The news of the dis­cov­ery fol­lowed an announce­ment by local author­i­ties on the Balearic Islands that 37 wild olive trees, known as ace­buches, infected with Xylella fas­tidiosa pauca, were destroyed in Sencelles.

The Balearic Institute of Nature destroyed 103 sus­cep­ti­ble trees over two hectares in the cen­ter of Mallorca, the largest island in the Mediterranean arch­i­pel­ago.

“Currently, the pos­i­tive cases for this species are all con­cen­trated in the area near the ceme­tery of this munic­i­pal­ity,” Joan Simonet, a local coun­cilor, told Diario de Mallorca.

“[The inter­ven­tions] have allowed bet­ter con­tain­ment of the bac­te­ria, a fact that favors the con­ser­va­tion of the wild olive trees in good con­di­tion and helps pro­tect the rest of the island and olive plan­ta­tions from the advance of Xylella fas­tidiosa,” he added.

While the first pauca infec­tions were iden­ti­fied in early 2024, Xylella fas­tidiosa was detected ini­tially on the Balearic Islands in November 2016.

A Xylella fas­tidiosa mul­ti­plex out­break in the Valencian Community is the only other active hotspot in the coun­try.

As of April 2024, local plant health author­i­ties reported that the bac­te­ria had infected 26 plant species but no olive trees. They also iden­ti­fied three insect vec­tors, includ­ing the meadow spit­tle­bug, which preys on olives.

Previous Xylella fas­tidiosa out­breaks in the Community of Madrid and Almería in 2018 were suc­cess­fully erad­i­cated, and the areas remain free of the bac­te­ria.

Along with Spain and Portugal, Xylella fas­tidiosa has been iden­ti­fied in France – where author­i­ties said it is unlikely to be erad­i­cated – and Italy.

Since it was first iden­ti­fied in 2013, Xylella fas­tidiosa pauca has severely impacted olive oil pro­duc­tion in Puglia, Italy’s most sig­nif­i­cant olive oil region, and con­tributed to the steady har­vest declines from the record-high lev­els through­out the 1990s and 2000s.

• Extremadura regional gov­ern­ment
• Andalusia regional gov­ern­ment
• Diario de Mallorca