The Xyllela infection restricts the tree's ability to move water and nutrients and over time it withers and dies, according to the BBC.The research team, led by Dr. Kevin Schneider from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said that drastic action is required to stop the spread of the disease.
Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:
A deadly pathogen is spreading across olive trees in Europe and may cause over $20 billion in losses and increase the price of olive oil, according to the BBC.
The bacteria, Xylella fastidiosa, is spread by sap-sucking insects known as spittlebugs. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous plant pathogens in the world, and it has already created huge problems in Italy and Spain where it has decimated entire groves of ancient olive trees, as The Independent reported.
According to experts, the bacterium is capable of destroying not only olive trees, but it also preys upon more than 300 species including lavender, rosemary, almond, plum and cherry trees. There is no cure for a Xylella infection, according to the BBC.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the infection could cost Italy over $5 billion over the next half century. Already, the bacterium has wiped out more than 1 million trees in Italy. Spain could suffer over $17 billion in losses and Greece will face another $2 billion in losses. That is assuming the infection continues unabated and replanting is impossible, as The Guardian reported. Together, Spain, Italy and Greece account for 95 percent of Europe's olive oil production.
Olive trees, which are sensitive to temperature fluctuations, are already at risk to extreme weather caused by the climate crisis, including heatwaves, drought and flooding. In 2019, Italy saw a 57 percent decrease in its olive harvest, which scientists attributed to the climate crisis, as The Guardian reported at the time.
The Xyllela infection restricts the tree's ability to move water and nutrients and over time it withers and dies, according to the BBC.