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The bacteria Xylella fastidiosa, which attacked the olive and almond trees, was long feared. It has been around for some time now, but now Vila Nova de Gaia has arrived at the "knot" of plants of the genus Lavandula, an ornamental plant commonly known as lavender, but which has no symptoms of the disease. However, its presence in the national territory is enough to leave many producers scared.
Since the bacterium was detected, for the first time in Europe, in the Puglia region (Italy), the Province of Lecce, striking a large area of olive groves, that its presence in the Portuguese olive groves, was awaited with great apprehension.
His arrival in Portugal was reported by the Directorate General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV), which identified in the northern city "the plants that carry the bacterium" Xylella fastidiosa"The sample was collected by the services of the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Northern Fisheries under the" National Perspective " X. fastidiosa", Refer to these services through a declaration.
The positive analysis was obtained by the National Institute of Agrarian and Veterinary Research (INIAV) and confirmed by the European Reference Laboratory (ANSES), awaiting information on the bacterial strain. DG Sante (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission) has already been informed of the situation and the DGAV is preparing its phytosanitary notification on Europhyt. The national authorities have already launched all the recommended actions to identify and contain the situation, the statement said.
The sampling site has already been inspected by a mixed brigade of technicians from the Regional Directorate for Agriculture and Fisheries of the North and the Directorate General for Food and Veterinary Affairs who "have examined the situation and collected samples and determined the destruction some plants ".
The statement published on the website DGAV underlines that the lifting of sensitive plants within a radius of 100 meters (called the infected area) and the related sampling "will continue in the coming days". Parallel to this operation, the process of identifying the flora sensitive to the bacterial agent will begin within a radius of five kilometers (known as the buffer zone), which will be carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF). ) and with the municipalities of Vila Nova de Gaia and Gondomar. A notice will also be published concerning the Demarcated Zone, consisting of the infected zone and the buffer zone, which identifies the area in question.
It is recalled that, in light of the evolution of the situation, the Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/2417 of the European Commission lists the host genera and the species identified as susceptible to the subspecies of the bacterium detected in the territory of the European Union . These species "can only circulate in the European Union provided they are accompanied by a plant passport, regardless of whether they come from demarcated areas".
It remains to be ascertained, if the lavender plants, carriers of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, entered with or without a phytosanitary passport.
Alentejo apprehensive
The most dramatic consequences of the arrival of the bacterium Xylella Fastidiosa in Portugal they mainly concentrate in Alentejo, where tens of millions of olive trees, almond trees and other fruit trees are the ideal habitat for the propagation of a parasite that already worries the Alentejo olive growers, especially those who explore vast areas of intensive and super-intensive olive grove.
Since 2014, Portugal has implemented a national program for the annual prospecting of this bacterium, which until recently had not been registered in the national territory.
The genus Xylella, identified by Wells et al. (1987), is composed of a single species, the Xylella fastidiosa. The species includes different strains and is characterized by a slow growth of the culture media.
Colonies grow in artificial medium, at 26-28 ° C, at pH between 6, 5-6, 9, they can be smooth or rough, opalescent and circular. It is a vascular bacterium that lives in the xylem of plants, transmitted by insects.
According to serology and genetic typing studies, their strains have been divided into five subspecies: Xylella fastidiosa subsp. piercei (who chooses vine strains), Xylella fastidiosa subsp. sandyi (Oleander) Xylella fastidiosa subsp. manifold (various guests), Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (including prunes, coffee and citrus fruits) and the Xylella fastidiosa subsp. tashke, which has been identified in Chitalpa (Chitalpa tashkentensis) an ornamental tree.
Meanwhile, the CDS MPs have issued a statement in which the Agriculture Minister Capoulas Santos is questioned about the information that has already been collected on the strain of bacteria found in Vila Nova de Gaia and on what plan to contain the disease foreseen by the Ministry of Agriculture in view of the development of the situation.
The center party recalled that "on 6 July 2017, the party had already questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development at first Xylella fastidiosa in an almond plantation, in Guadalest. This was the first target of the bacterium detected in the Iberian Peninsula, after its presence was registered in the Balearic Islands in 2016.
In response to the questions posed by the CDS-PP MPs, the Office of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development then reported on the measures taken to identify the dangerous bacterium and referred to the preparation and publication of the "Contingency Plan for Xylella fastidiosa and its carriers. "The process was launched in June 2016 and 625 inspections and the collection of 500 samples were scheduled by 2017, stating that the monitoring action program" could be modified in the event of any developments in the meantime. "
Contacted by PÚBLICO, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the presence of "bacteria-bearing plants" Xylella fastidiosa"In Vila Nova de Gaia" but without symptoms of the disease ", adding that in 2014 Portugal launched a" national annual prospecting program "for this bacterium.
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