`Filippo Berio Partners with Italian Research Council to Combat Xylella - Olive Oil Times

Filippo Berio Partners with Italian Research Council to Combat Xylella

By Julie Al-Zoubi
Apr. 29, 2020 12:29 UTC

Filippo Berio has announced plans to part­ner with the Italian National Research Council on a three-year research project in which they aim to improve under­stand­ing of Xylella fas­tidiosa.

Under the ini­tia­tive, 70 hectares of Filippo Berio’s Tuscan olive groves located between Lucca and Pisa will be trans­formed into an open-air lab­o­ra­tory.” The plans include the cul­ti­va­tion of Tuscan olive trees which have shown greater resis­tance to Xylella than other vari­eties.

Scientists will also mon­i­tor sap-suck­ing spit­tle­bugs which are known to spread the deadly dis­ease and sur­round the olive trees with a species of grass that is known to repel the spit­tle­bug.

The researchers will also deter­mine the most effec­tive soil and plant man­age­ment sys­tems in a quest to improve olive cul­ti­va­tion in Italy.

Since 2013, Xylella fas­tidiosa has des­e­crated olive groves in Italy’s Puglia region, ram­paged across the coun­try and dec­i­mated crops in Spain, France, Portugal and Israel.

The Italian gov­ern­ment has faced crit­i­cism for not doing enough in the fight against Xylella although, toward the end of last year, Teresa Bellanova, Italy’s agri­cul­ture min­is­ter pledged funds and resources to stem the spread of the dis­ease and assist the econ­omy in regions most affected by the pathogen.

Although there is no known cure for Xylella, ear­lier this month Olive Oil Times reported that a new treat­ment for infected trees appeared to be effec­tive.



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