In the App of the Alert and Phytosanitary Information Network of Andalusia (RAIF) a module has been enabled «Notices and surveillance of Xylella fastidiosa« that allows the collection of data and the sending of information aimed at the detection of «foams», that would indicate the presence of nymphs of certain species of vector insects with the capacity to transmit the disease.
This application can be used by technicians and by the general public and allows the communication of any suspicious symptoms of the disease or the presence of potential vectors that may transmit it.
Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium with enormous pathogenic potential on a large number of host plants and that can cause serious damage in crops of great economic importance in Andalusia such as olive, citrus, vine, almond and stone fruit trees, as well as in numerous ornamental species or forestry.
The bacterium is transmitted by any leafhopper or cigarette (Hemiptera: Auchenorryncha) that is capable of feeding on the xylem of plants. In Italy, the species Philaenus spumarius seems to be the main vector of the disease in olive groves, but its importance as a vector in Spain and other Mediterranean countries is still unknown. The bacterium is transmitted persistently by adults and nymphs and multiplies in the insect without requiring a latency period. Among the main control methods are preventive methods (border control of batches of infected plants, mainly ornamental plants), vector control both in nurseries and in the field, and obtaining germplasm resistant to the bacteria.