21 million olive trees perished: prices may rise

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which emerged ten years ago in the Italian region of Puglia and is transmitted by flying insects, has destroyed a third of the region’s 60 million olive trees, where half of the country’s olive oil is produced. .

Spreading through Lecce, in southern Puglia, the bacterium is now heading to Bari, where olive groves are concentrated.

“If it comes to Bari, it will create price volatility and it will be a disaster for production,” said Nicola Di Noia, an olive oil expert with farmers’ lobby group Coldiretti, which published the data.

The Puglia region is known as the main producer of extra virgin oils from olive trees up to 1,000 years old.

PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE

When Xylella emerged, experts called for buffer zones to be created to prevent infected trees from being cut down and spread.

But activists disputed the allegations and dominated conspiracy theories based on social media, according to Daniele Rielli, author of “The Invisible Fire” on bacteria. “They blamed pesticides and water pollution, or said it was people spraying poison on trees at night on behalf of multinational companies that wanted to promote new genetically modified trees,” Rielli said.

“People are always looking for scapegoats during epidemics and this was prompted by social media and politicians quickly got behind the ideas,” Rielli said, adding that people in Puglia understand their mistakes.

Coldiretti urged the Italian government to increase funding for farmers to plant bacteria-resistant olive varieties, and Di Noia urged olive tree owners in Puglia to cut down infected trees and get rid of grass around healthy trees where the insects they lay their eggs. Experts see these methods as ways to prevent bacteria from reaching Bari.