`Univ. of Andalusia Seminar to Focus on Impact of Xylella fastidiosa - Olive Oil Times

Univ. of Andalusia Seminar to Focus on Impact of Xylella fastidiosa

By Danielle Putier
Sep. 8, 2014 12:19 UTC

The University of Andalusia is hold­ing a two day long sem­i­nar cov­er­ing recent inno­va­tions in olive grow­ing, focus­ing on the impact of bac­te­r­ial dis­eases.

The sem­i­nar, which will be held on October 3 and 4 at the University’s Antonio Machado International Campus in Baeza, Jaén will explore new devel­op­ments in many aspects of olive cul­ti­va­tion. According to orga­niz­ers, the main objec­tive of the pro­gram is to com­bine the research of the aca­d­e­mic world with the prac­ticed agri­cul­tural sec­tor to pro­vide progress to the olive indus­try at large. Andalusia is Spain’s top olive grow­ing region.

Included in the pro­gram are explo­rations on the nuances of indi­vid­ual olive vari­eties, soil man­age­ment for opti­mal fer­til­ity, irri­ga­tion tech­niques and most timely of all — dis­eases like Xylella fas­tidiosa.

The impact of the Xylella fas­tidiosa bac­terium is ongo­ing, as Italy has been forced to scram­ble to find a solu­tion for the fast-spread­ing dis­ease. Spread through insects, the dis­ease has already destroyed thou­sands of trees in the country’s prime olive-grow­ing region, Puglia.

The loss of trees alone has come at a cost of €250 mil­lion ($330 mil­lion), and has caused finan­cial strain on an indus­try that is already feel­ing pres­sure with droughts in Spain, the world’s top olive oil exporter.

Although open to the pub­lic, the sem­i­nar is geared towards stu­dents and researchers in agron­omy, biol­ogy, chem­istry, eco­nom­ics as well as those involved in olive cul­ti­va­tion.

For more infor­ma­tion visit the event web­site or call +34 953 742 775


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