Current investigations on the susceptibility of potential host plants to Xylella fastidiosa, to evaluate the risk of introduction, establishment and spread in Belgium

Xylella fastidiosa has been reported in 2018 in a Belgian nursery in West Flanders. Even before this event, the need to explore scientifically the threat to the country presented by the bacterium has been recognized, and investigation started in 2016. Based on a first screening of the Xylella host plants, three model tree species were selected: Prunus domestica cv Opal, Quercus petraea, and Salix alba. The susceptibility to the bacterium of these plant species is investigated in two different ways. The first way, known as “Sentinel plantationâ€, is the establishment of these plant species in... Mehr ...