More than 250 plant health experts from around the world met in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, last week to share and debate the latest scientific developments on efforts to tackle the spread of\u00a0Xylella fastidiosa<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The programme included around 50 presentations looking at issues such as current knowledge of the pathogen, how it is transmitted, resistance in plants and control measures. There were keynote speeches from scientists working on the frontline against\u00a0Xylella<\/em>\u00a0in Italy, Spain, France and the UK, and from the United States and Brazil as well as bodies\u00a0such as the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) and the\u00a0European Commission\u2019s\u00a0Joint Research Centre (JRC).<\/p>\n

The speakers brought experience from the US and South America, where\u00a0Xylella<\/em>\u00a0has been present for many years, together with the research being done in the outbreak areas in Europe, where the pathogen was first detected in 2013.<\/p>\n

Giuseppe Stancanelli, head of the Plant Health team at EFSA, which co-hosted the conference, said: \u201cThis was the biggest scientific conference held in Europe on\u00a0Xylella. The fact that so many experts came from across the globe shows that the fight against this dangerous pathogen requires a coordinated international effort.\u00a0Xylella\u00a0does not respect national boundaries.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The three-day discussions highlighted the complexity behind the need to control\u00a0Xylella<\/em>. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot be effective as pathogen, vectors, host plants and the environment differ throughout the EU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe progress made on\u00a0Xylella\u00a0research in Europe in recent years has been impressive, however, there is still much to be done,\u201d<\/em> said Prof Mike Jeger, chair of EFSA\u2019s Plant Health Panel in the conference\u2019s closing remarks. \u201cLong-term research programmes are needed to support scientists.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The conference is expected to reconvene in two years in Corsica, which has also been affected by a\u00a0Xylella<\/em>\u00a0outbreak.<\/p>\n

A report on this year\u2019s meeting will be published next month. Details of the programme and presentations can be found on the\u00a0event website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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More than 250 plant health experts from around the world met in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, last week to share and debate the latest scientific developments on efforts to tackle the spread of\u00a0Xylella fastidiosa. The programme included around 50 presentations looking at issues such as current knowledge of the pathogen, how it is transmitted, resistance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,9,7,6,54,28],"tags":[706,348,8,395,718],"class_list":{"0":"post-2968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"category-featured","9":"category-garden-retail","10":"category-landscape","11":"category-news","12":"category-ornamentals","13":"tag-conference","14":"tag-efsa","15":"tag-horticulture","16":"tag-plant-health","17":"tag-xylella"},"yoast_head":"\n