XF-ACTORS – Xylella Fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy

The Xf-Actors project, starting in November 2017 is an EU funded project that  establishes a multidisciplinary research program to answer the urgent need to improve prevention for the control of diseases caused by Xylella fastidiosa. The overall objective is to develop a global strategy for the integrated management of serious diseases associated with Xylella fastidiosa, with the intention of preventing the spread of bacteria and to mitigate the economic, environmental and social aspects of epidemic conditions worldwide.

Xylella fastidiosa is widely distributed on the American continent where it has been well known since the early 1800s, as the causal agent of severe diseases affecting relevant crops, as in the case of Pierce Disease in the Californian vineyards or the Citrus Variegated Chlorosis in Brazil. its site of origin, from where it has travelled to the Old World with infected plant material. Unfortunately, the presence and distribution of the bacterium is no longer limited to the Americas, but it is currently threatening European agriculture, especially in the Italian region of Apulia where it is affecting olive groves, with more than 300 000 hectares of territory currently exposed to the infection. Other types of trees and shrubs are also already affected or an object of concern. This is the case of France where X. fastidiosa is damaging the myrtle-leaf milkwort specifically in Corsica and in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA), or Spain and Germany, where the subspecies of the Pierce disease has been detected. Therefore it is essential to carry out a research with a global perspective in order to combat this organism and avoid its further spread.
Consortium Partnership

• CNR-IPSP Bari, Italy
• CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE HAUTES ETUDES AGRONOMIQUES MEDITERRANEENNES, France
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI BARI ALDO MORO, Italy
• INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE, France
• AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS, Spain
• INSTITUTO VALENCIANO DE INVESTIGACIONES AGRARIAS, Spain
• BENAKI PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Greece
• JULIUS KUHN-INSTITUT BUNDESFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUR KULTURPFLANZEN, Germany
• VLAAMS GEWEST, Belgium
• THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, United States
• AGENCIA PAULISTA DE TECNOLOGIA DOS AGRONEGOCIOS, Brazil
• NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY, Taiwan
• UNIVERSIDAD DE COSTA RICA, Costa Rica
• NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL, United Kingdom
• Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
• THE UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD, United Kingdom
• JRC -JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE- EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Belgium
• FONDAZIONE CENTRO EURO-MEDITERRANEO SUI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI, Italy
• NEDERLANDSE VOEDSEL EN WARENAUTORITEIT, Netherlands
• INSTITUTO ANDALUZ DE INVESTIGACIONY FORMACION AGRARIA PESQUERA ALIMENTARIA Y DE LA PRODUCCION ECOLOGICA, Spain
• INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS EUROPEAN UNION REGIONAL GROUP, Sweden
• EUROPEAN AND MEDITERRANEAN PLANT PROTECTION ORGANISATION,France
• RUSSELL IPM LTD,United Kingdom
• ENBIOTECH SOCIETA A RESPONSABILITA LIMITATA, Italy
• ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE LA INDUSTRIA AGROALIMENTARIA., Spain
• SUSTAINABLE COMMUNICATION AISBL, Belgium
• STICHTING NEDERLANDSE ALGEMENE KWALITEITSDIENST TUINBOUW, Netherlands
• CENTRO INTERPROFESSIONALE PER LE ATTIVITA VIVAISTICHE, Italy

www.xfactorsproject.eu