BIOVEXO: Can we find solutions to protect plants against Xylella?

Beschreibung

BIOVEXO: Can we find solutions to protect plants against Xylella?
S. COMPANT, THE BIOVEXO CONSORTIUM
Bioresources Unit, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Konrad Lorenz Strasse 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria. E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Xylella fastidiosa is increasingly causing diseases in olive trees and various crops in the
Mediterranean region. It has wiped out a number of olive and almond groves in Italy and Spain in
only a few years. Unfortunately, the climate of the southern European Union is ideal for Xylella. Due
to its rapid transmission across cultivation areas, Xylella fastidiosa is projected to cause yield losses
of 35-70% in olive and 13% in almond harvests. Currently, there are no products available on the
market that have been proven to be effective against Xylella fastidiosa, which is spread by xylemfeeding
insects–notably the spittlebug Philaenus spumarius. Several chemical insecticides are
authorized to control xylem-feeding insects. For products allowed in organic farming, only
temporary authorizations, for limited periods, have been obtained. In BIOVEXO, 11 partners from 5
different countries aim to develop environmentally sustainable and economically viable plant
protection solutions to control Xylella and its insect vector. After 4 years of the BIOVEXO project,
several biopesticides have been upscaled and formulated. They are still currently being assessed and
applied via foliar spray or drip irrigation on largescale field trials (olive and almond trees) as
preventive and curative approaches. They are also applied in an integrated pest management
program in Italy (Apulia). Results obtained so far show that some pesticides reduce the insect vector
populations, while some others reduce Xylella symptoms on plants such as olive trees, not almonds,
and only under certain conditions as assessed after 3.5 years of application. In the case of
biopesticides reducing Xylella symptoms, only symptoms have been recorded as reduced in curative
approaches, while the pathogen population seems not to be affected. A further assessment in the
last year of the BIOVEXO project should be carried out to confirm these results obtained so far.
However, data from field applications also show biostimulant effects against abiotic stress and an
increase in plant vigor, particularly on olive trees treated with some BIOVEXO products. Results from
toxicity and genotoxicity tests as well as from life cycle assessment and the shelf life of products
showed further that biopesticides can be relevant for the market. Putative mechanisms of action of
biopesticides targeting Xylella or the insect vector involve direct biocontrol properties, biostimulant
effects on olive trees, and induced systemic plant resistance against Xylella. Insect and plant
microbiomes following biopesticide applications are also currently analyzed. All the results suggest
multiple potential future applications of products, i.e., as biostimulants to improve plant growth,
protect plants against abiotic stress, or as biopesticides to reduce Xylella symptoms and vector
populations.
This research has received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under
grant agreement no. 887281.
31

Zeitraum	7 Juli 2025
Ereignistitel	The 17th International Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union
Veranstaltungstyp	Konferenz
Ort	Bari, ItalienAuf Karte anzeigen
Bekanntheitsgrad	International