Southern Europe Could Lose $22 Billion Fighting Deadly Olive Tree Disease

A deadly bacterium, xylella fastidiosa, has killed millions of olive trees in southern Italy. One of the hardest-hit areas is Lecce province in the Puglia region (pictured here). Xylella, which has no cure, "is almost like the coronavirus of olive trees," says Maria Saponari, a plant virologist at the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection in Italy.

The tree killer is a bacterium called xylella fastidiosa. It has killed millions of olive trees in Italy and is now threatening Spain and Greece. These countries produce 95% of Europe’s olive oil.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Maria Saponari)

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