Xylella fastidiosa

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial disease which can infect more than 500 species of plant. Xylella colonises the plant xylem vessels, being transmitted by sap-feeding insects including leafhoppers, froghoppers and spittlebugs. The diseases causes leaf scorch, wilt, die-back and may lead to plant death. Symptoms can be more severe in hot, dry weather so climate change might lead to more disease outbreaks.

Xylella is not currently present in the UK, but there have been devastating outbreaks in Europe affecting olive and almond trees. Regulation is focussed on stopping Xylella getting into the UK, with quarantine and inspection regulations for high-risk plants. Researchers on our BRIGIT project studied the geographical range of the insects that might spread Xylella and how the how plants respond to infection. They also developed tools for better detection of Xylella in plants and insects. You can find out more on the BRIGIT website. And they even created some great resources to help raise public awareness that you’ll find below.

Find out more about Xylella via these resources:

Find blog posts and news about Xylella fastidiosa on this website