“Xylella fastidiosa: a threat to the olive tree”, a conference in La Jana (Spain), land of monumental olives

On Wednesday 13 July, the growers association ‘La Unió de Llauradors I Ramaders’ from Comunitat Valenciana region in Spain will organize the conference ‘Xylella fastidiosa: a threat to the olive tree’.
Prof. Maria M. Lopez from IVIA, a member of the POnTE consortium, will give a talk about the Xylella disease in olive, introducing also experiences from other woody crops such as citrus, grapevine and almond, of great economic importance in the Mediterranean Basin. Dr. Antonio Vicent, also from IVIA, will analyze the risks of introduction of X. fastidiosa in Spain, following the scientific opinion adopted by EFSA. Dr. Ester Marco will summarize the main research and extension activities about X. fastidiosa conducted at IVIA, with special emphasis on the POnTE project. Vicente Dalmau, Head of the Plant Health Service at Comunitat Valenciana will describe the official contingency plan for X. fastidiosa in this region.
The conference will be held at La Jana, in the Taula del Senia territory in Castelló province. This particular geographic area received a special mention of the European Landscape Convention (2014-2015) of the Council of Europe for its millennium olive tree landscape. About 4,800 ancient olive trees are preserved in this territory, with the ‘olivo de las cuatro patas’ being awarded as the best monumental olive tree in Spain in 2016. Several locations at Taula del Senia served as filming locations of ‘El Olivo’, an emotional film by Iciar Bollain.
The conference program is available at this link.