As envisaged in the new EU Plant Health Law (Regulation EU 2016/2031), BeXyl Project will organize a simulation exercise on contingency planning with relevant stakeholders and risk managers under the coordination of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Participants in the simulation exercise will perform a role-play in a hypothetical scenario of X. fastidiosa introduction in the EU. Contingency plans will go through a stress test, and a final report will recommend actions for improvement. To get an idea of what’s in the pipeline, look at the report on the exercise workshop for contingency planning held in Valencia, Spain, over three days in October 2021. The scenario followed the first (fictitious) finding of Diaphorina citri (the insect vector of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, a causal agent of Huanglongbing) at a citrus orchard in Spain. The exercise had seen the participation of 49 experts from the EPPO, a wide range of stakeholders from citrus cooperatives, grower associations, nursery workers, citrus exporters, landscapers and gardeners, scientists, Regional Plant Health Authorities, National Plant Protection Organizations and the European Commission.
New Xf outbreak in Spain, near the border with Portugal
In early July, the Plant Health Service of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Livestock of the Region of Extremadura in Spain reported the presence of Xylella fastidiosa, subspecies fastidiosa, in a wooded area of Valencia de Alcántara, close...
