Alarm in Gargano as Xylella Reaches New Northern Front
A new Xylella fastidiosa outbreak near Cagnano Varano marks the bacterium’s northernmost spread in Puglia, prompting containment efforts and genetic analysis to trace its origin.
A fresh outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa has been reported in the northern reaches of Puglia, southern Italy, where the bacterium had previously been undetected.
We are deeply concerned. The arrival of the bacterium in this part of Puglia seems to indicate an acceleration in its spread.
Forty-seven olive trees were found infected near Cagnano Varano, in the heart of Gargano National Park, a region also known as the spur of Italy.
The discovery sounded the alarm for local authorities, researchers, and volunteers, who are now teaming up to fully assess the presence of the bacteria within a 400-meter radius of the outbreak.
Containment measures are being implemented in accordance with the established protocols provided by Italian law and European regulations.
Those measures include the eradication of the infected trees and all other trees found within a 50-meter radius of the outbreak.
Such a red zone is surrounded by a buffer area of at least 2.5 kilometers from the infection. Within that area, special monitoring and prevention protocols are deployed.
According to analyses conducted by the National Research Council (CNR), the Xylella fastidiosa subspecies pauca was detected in the trees.
CNR scientists are now genetically characterizing the bacterium to determine its exact profile and possible origin.
Pauca is considered the primary trigger of the deadly Olive Quick Decline Syndrome, which destroyed millions of olive trees in southern Puglia.
The new outbreak is about 90 kilometers north of the last major infection reported last July.
Furthermore, the Park is nearly 300 kilometers north of where pauca was first discovered by CNR researchers back in 2013.
In Foggia province, where the new outbreak was detected, tens of thousands of olive farmers remain active, producing roughly 15 percent of the region’s olive oil output.
Even in the midst of the Xylella infection, which drove huge numbers of farms and olive oil mills out of the market, Puglia is still by far the major olive oil-producing region in the country.
“We are deeply concerned. The arrival of the bacterium in this part of Puglia, so far completely unaffected, seems to indicate an acceleration in its spread,” said Gennaro Sicolo, regional president of CIA Agricoltori Italiani.
“Just a few days ago, we had reported the increasingly alarming situation of Xylella’s advance near Bari, and now we find it in the province of Foggia,” he added.
In the area, some of Italy’s most famous olive tree cultivars are grown, such as Coratina and Peranzana.
“A severe blow,” commented the Apulian branch of the farming association Coldiretti, noting that no cure for the bacteriosis is currently available.
“The only way to slow the spread of the infection,” Coldiretti wrote, “is mechanical and phytosanitary prevention practices, plant monitoring beyond visual inspections, surveillance of the insect vector known as the spittlebug, sampling and removal of infected olive trees and the use of new tools for the early detection of outbreaks.”
Slowing down the infection is considered crucial to give researchers time to develop new solutions and for the industry to adopt them and bring them to market.
Recently, the E.U.-funded large and collaborative Biovexo project announced that three sustainable bio-pesticides have proven their ability to curtail the infection and reduce its impact on the trees.
Previously, other on-field trials demonstrated how a certain level of resilience to the bacteria can be achieved.
According to CIA Agricoltori Italiani, more should be done. The association once again requested the appointment of a special commissioner to expedite actions on the territory through increased funding and collaboration among stakeholders.
In his note, Sicolo also noted that, in recent years, many investments have been made by olive farmers in Foggia province.
“New production processes have improved not only the quality of the product but also its environmental and economic sustainability,” he said.
“Numerous olive-growing businesses have experienced a generational renewal that has allowed young women and men to take leading roles in their family enterprises, introducing important innovations in marketing and in the expansion into new markets,” he concluded.