The olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) diffusion in Apulia Region: An apparent contradiction according to the agricultural model

Abstract

The agricultural models and innovations are not neutral, in relation both to the goals and to the territorial impacts, with special reference to the ecological and social dimensions. This awareness has become the key to observe the olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) that has affected the Apulia, a land of secular olive trees characterizing landscape and economy. By an inductive approach and according to data on the provincial level, we have verified the correlation between the ways of land use and the OQDS diffusion. In fact, in the Lecce and Brindisi provinces affected by the phenomenon we have observed an unexpected distribution of herbicides and the location of experimental fields with chemical products. The hypothesis is that the pathogens have damaged the weaker plants, that is to say those in polluted and poor soils, while the zones with a higher presence of organic agricultural land result less affected by the OQDS. Data on the local scale could be very important to know the correlation in greater detail, and make clearer the OQDS focus origin, as well as to better understand the territorial impact.

Full text

Belgeo
Revue belge de géographie
4 | 2016
Sustainability of rural systems: balancing heritage and
innovation
The olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) diffusion
in Apulia Region: an apparent contradiction
according to the agricultural model
La diffusion du complexe du dessèchement rapide de l’olivier (CDRO) dans les
Pouilles: une apparente contradiction par rapport au modèle agricole
Margherita Ciervo
Electronic version
URL: http://belgeo.revues.org/20290
ISSN: 2294-9135
Publisher:
National Committee of Geography of
Belgium, Société Royale Belge de
Géographie
Electronic reference
Margherita Ciervo, « The olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) diffusion in Apulia Region: an apparent
contradiction according to the agricultural model », Belgeo [Online], 4 | 2016, Online since 30 June
2017, connection on 22 September 2017. URL : http://belgeo.revues.org/20290
This text was automatically generated on 22 September 2017.
Belgeo est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International.

The olive quick decline syndrome
(OQDS) diffusion in Apulia Region:
an apparent contradiction
according to the agricultural model
La diffusion du complexe du dessèchement rapide de l’olivier (CDRO) dans les
Pouilles: une apparente contradiction par rapport au modèle agricole
Margherita Ciervo
I am grateful to PhD Margherita D'Amico, a plant pathologist, for her valuable advice. Moreover, I
wish to thank two anonymous referees for their very constructive comments.
Introduction
1 The olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS), that is to say the olive trees with leaf scorch
and die-back of twigs and branches, has affected here and there southern Apulia,
particularly the Salento peninsula, that is the province of Lecce and the southern zones of
the Brindisi and Taranto provinces (figure 1).
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Figure 1. The Apulia map with the Salento peninsula location, showing the surface with olive trees
(hectares), 2012.
Source: own map on data by www.istat.it
2 The olive trees rapid decline has been ascribed to a range of causes such as the fungi, the
leopard moth (Zeuzera pyrina) and the Xylella fastidiosa (xf) bacterium, in addition to the
reduction of cares such as the pruning of the parts attacked by parasites. We have chosen
this case study because of the potential territorial impacts and its relevance on cultural,
geoeconomics and geopolitical level. Apulia is the land of secular olive trees (figure 2ab)
that characterize the landscape and the economy. It is the first on the national level in
terms of surface with olive trees (figure 2c) and production of olives and olive oil (figure
2d). As for the xf, it is a quarantine bacterium and its diffusion represents a potential
threat for European countries.
3 The aim of this research is to verify if there is a correlation between the ways of land use,
that is to say the agricultural model, and the OQDS diffusion in order to offer some
elements of reflection to the interpretation of the phenomenon and, consequently, to the
current debate.
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Figure 2. Apulia, 2012: the surface (hectares) with half-century olive trees on the national level (A)
and on the regional level (B); the surface (hectares) with the olive trees (C); the olive total
production (quintal) on the national level (D).
Source: own figure on data by www.istat.it
Background
The diffusion of OQDS
4 In the western Salento peninsula, olive trees with leaf scorch symptoms and die-back of
twigs and branches have been observed since 2008 in the municipalities of Gallipoli,
Racale, Alezio, Taviano and Parabita in the province of Lecce. In 2014 a big focus has been
found in the Gallipoli area – around 23,000 hectares (of these 7,000 ha with olive plants),
referring to 12 municipalities (Alezio, Alliste, Collepasso, Gallipoli, Matino, Melissano,
Neviano, Parabita, Racale, Sannicola, Taviano and Tuglie) – and other smaller focuses
have been located in the municipalities of Trepuzzi (7 ha), Lecce (30 ha), Copertino (5 ha),
Galatina (4 ha) and Sternatia (1 ha) (figure 3).
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Figure 3. Salento: the municipalities with the first plant decline symptoms (2008) and the olive
trees decline focus (2014).
Source: own map on data by Procura della Repubblica di Lecce, 2015 and Apulia Region, 2014
5
6 They have been initially ascribed to the anthracnose of olive plants, while successively to
a range of causes (as fungi, leopard moth and xf) and called “olive quick decline complex”
(Apulia Region, 2013). Nevertheless, the attention has been concentrated on the xf even if
some studies asserted that “we were unable to determine if xf is or is not the causal agent
of OLSD, olive leaf scorch disease” (Krugner et al., 2011, p. 3) and others showed that xf
was not always present in the sample collected from trees with symptoms or that the
quick decline was associated with different fungal species (Carlucci et al., 2013ab, 2015;
Giannozzi et al., 2013; Nigro et al., 2013). In addition, there are “attestations that fungi can
cause individually the decline of trees” (EC, 2014a, p. 7). On the other hand, the empiric
evidence reveals that around 500 olive trees with decline symptoms have been sprouting
again after biological control measures of fungi pathogens (http://temi.repubblica.it/
micromega-online/salviamo-gli-ulivi-della-puglia/?printpage=undefined).
7 Moreover, some more recent studies conducted in California on olive trees exhibiting leaf
scorch or branch die-back symptoms have shown that they are not well correlated with xf
presence. In fact, “only approximately 17% of diseased trees tested positive for X.
fastidiosa by polymerase chain reaction, and disease symptoms could not be attributed to
X. fastidiosa infection of olive in greenhouse pathogenicity assays”, as well as the
“mechanical inoculation of X. fastidiosa olive strains to olive resulted in infection at low
efficiency but infections remained asymptomatic and tended to be self-limiting”
(Krugner et al., 2014, p. 1186).
8 The xf, a bacterium known in America, is a quarantine agent in Europe that “has been
previously reported in the Mediterranean region, but did not spread probably because of the
lack of a vector” (Carlucci et al., 2013b). The xf is in the European and Mediterranean Plant
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Protection Organization list (A1-EPPO), and its vector in the Salento peninsula has been
identified with the Philaenus spumarius L. so-called “Sputacchina media” (Saponari et al.,
2014). However, according to EFSA (2015, pp. 116), “all xylem fluid-feeding insects in
Europe are considered to be potential vectors […] Additionally, only limited data are
available on vectors’ capacity to survive long-distance transportation on their own in
vehicles […] and on vectors’ autonomous dispersal capacity”. Much uncertainty also
exists regarding the potential host plants “as a wide range of European wild plant species
have never met the bacterium and it is not known whether they would be hosts, and, if
so, whether they would be symptomatic or asymptomatic”.
The so called “Xylella emergency”
9 So, in 2013, the Apulia Region decreed (DGR n. 2023 on 29 October) emergency measures for
prevention, control and eradication of xf, without scientific evidence (about the bacterium,
host plants, epidemiology and vectors), according to a reductionist and a mechanistic
approach, in addition to a very strong suspicious and inconsistent process, characterised
by a sort of “short-circuit” between science, information and policy (Ciervo, 2015). The
Apulia Region demanded (DGR n. 1842 on 8 September 2014) and obtained (on 10
February 2015) the declaration of the state of emergency, with the nomination of an
Extraordinary Commissioner. In Italy, it was the first time that the emergency state was
declared because of plant health. The Commissioner drew up a plan taking into account
the regional decisions substantially confirmed by the European Commission (2014/87/EU,
2014/497/EU, 2015/789/EU) in order to prevent the xf diffusion in the EU countries.
10 The plan provided for the demolition of the trees (infects, potentially infects and not
infects), a very large use of pesticides and the prohibition to plant the host plants (olive
trees included), also if “there is no record of successful eradication of Xf once established
outdoors due to the broad host range of the pathogen and of its vectors” (EFSA, 2013, p.
25) and “when infections are predominantly or exclusively primary […] insecticide
applications on the crops are not very effective” (Purcell, 1979). In addition, “the intensive
use of insecticide treatment to limit the disease transmission and control the insect
vector may have direct and indirect consequences for the environment by modifying
whole food webs with cascading consequences, and hence affecting various trophic levels […]
In addition, large-scale insecticide treatments also represent risks for human and animal
health” (EFSA, 2015, p. 66).
11 Moreover, if we consider that the Extraordinary Commissioner declared one million of
infected olive trees only in the province of Lecce, that is to say approximately one over
ten (http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/lecce/cronaca/15_marzo_03/milione-
ulivi-salentini-malati-xylella-colpisce-10percento-piante-ac37e2a6-c19a-11e4-
b25e-6a1aaa2c8bc6.shtml), we can imagine the devastating and irreversible effects of the
plan implementation on the landscape, ecosystem, local economy and human health, as
well as the deterritorialisation process, which means the destruction of the traditional
territorial relationships and the transformation of the population-resources relations
(Raffestin, 1981; Turco, 1988). This is the reason why the plan was strongly contested by a
large part of peasant, environmental and medical associations, NGOs, municipalities, and
raised a considerable popular mobilisation. It has also been a topic of the “Agro-mafia”
report (Eurispes et al., 2015) among others, of parliamentary agenda and subject of an
investigation. The plan was stopped by the Justice on 18 December 2015: the olive trees
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were sequestrated and their destruction forbidden. Today, some experimental scientific
projects to face the OQDS based on sustainable environmental methods are being
developed by the Floriculture Research Centre of Caserta (http://
centrostudiagronomi.blogspot.it/), the Universities of Basilicata (Xiloyannis et al., 2015),
Bologna (www.trnews.it) and Foggia (http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/lecce)
and a lot of other experimentations against to OQDS are producing very good results.
The state of the art: the main positions in the scientific field
12 In the scientific field, two main positions stand out. The first, that is to say primarily the
current position of CNR-National Researches’ Council, ascribes the leaf scorch symptoms
and die-back of twigs and branches to Xylella fastidiosa. So, in this case the objective is to
eradicate the bacterium regardless of understanding the real incidence of xf in the
phenomenon. For example, a CNR researcher has declared that the tests of pathogenicity
have a great importance for the science, but that they are absolutely irrelevant for the
control plans because the dangerousness of xf is already known and demonstrated (
Mattedi, 2015). Currently, there are two international projects on this theme coordinated
by IPSP-CNR (Institute for plant sustainable protection-National Researches’ Council) and
funded by the H2020 UE Program: the Pest Organisms Threatening Europe-POnTE (
www.ponteproject.eu) with a EU contribution of 6,850,000 euro (http://cordis.europa.eu/
project/rcn/204627_en.html) and the Xylella fastidiosa Active Containment Through a
Multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy- Xf-Actors (www.xfactorsproject.eu/), with
a EU contribution of 6,903,000 euro (http://cordis.europa.eu/project/
rcn/20602dica7_en.html). These researches satisfy the European Commission's request to
eradicate the xf (EC, 20114bc, 2015). The “Xf-Actors”, in particular, is the first research
project in Europe entirely devoted to the research on the bacterium Xf; it is composed of a
large consortium, involving the University of Bari and other 28 Partners and Research’s
Institutions. Its main purpose is “to accomplish researches and innovation actions to
improve the prevention, early detection and control of Xylella fastidiosa under different
phytosanitary conditions (EU Implementing Decision 789/2015: “pest-free areas”, “buffer
zones” and “infected zones”)” as well as the “identification of genes involved in the host-
response which may be used to set specific breeding and genetic improvement program”.
To eradicate xf, other different solutions have been proposed: the phage cocktail
composed of virulent (lytic) phages (Das et al., 2014, 2015); the substitution of the
traditional olives with cultivar more resistant as, for example, the FS-17 CNR patented
cultivar, known as “Favolosa” (www.cnr.it/it/comunicato-stampa/7411/scoperta-un-
altra-cultivar-di-olivo-resistente-alla-xylella); the study of the vectors and modalities to
stop them (Bosco, 2014). Moreover, some researchers extend their analysis to prevent the
xf diffusion to the agricultural practices (Xiloyannis et al., 2015).
13 The other main position ascribes the leaf scorch symptoms and die-back of twigs and
branches not necessarily to the Xylella fastidiosa but to some different biological and
agronomic causes as fungi (Carlucci et al., 2013a, 2015), the decline of agronomic practices
and the abuse of chemical products (Perrino, 2015). According to Perrino (2015), former
Director of the Vegetable Genetic Institute of CNR- Bari, the development of pathogens
could be the effect and not the cause of the illness of olive plants, which have become
more vulnerable for the reduction of biodiversity due to the industrial agriculture and,
thus, to the abuse of chemical products, herbicides, etc., as well as to the negative
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climatic factors (humidity, temperature, thermal excursion) and the water stress. In this
case, the research’s aim is to treat the olive trees suffering from OQDS. For example, the
University of Foggia (Department of Environmental, Food, Agrarian Science) and the
University of Salento (Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences and
Technologies), together with the Farmers’ Confederation (COPAGRI-Lecce), have
developed a project to identify environmentally compatible products in order to reduce
or remove the pathogen charge referring both to fungi and bacteria that cause the OQDS,
as well as to stimulate the plant resistance and the vegetative recovery (www.senato.it/
application/xmanager/projects/leg17/attachments/
documento_evento_procedura_commissione/files/000/002/523/25_marzo_COPAGRI.pdf
).
14 In 2015, an experiment with olive plants affected by OQDS has been conducted in order to
evaluate the possibility to control the symptomatology with products and good
agronomic practices. The results confirm the capacity of the plants to react to the
pathogenic attacks without threatening the production, thus that the productivity of
olive plants is not compromised by the presence of xf. This means that it is possible to
hypothesize the cohabitation of the olive with the bacterium and the territory (Carlucci et
al., 2016). In this context, there are different projects coordinated or participated in by
the University of Foggia and funded by the Apulia Region: the eziologic microorganism of
OQDS, implementation of methods for monitoring and control of pathology by
microorganism and agronomic techniques – Eziocontrol; the monitoring of xf and OQDS –
Mix Codiro; the application of strategic protocols for the control of OQDS – Aprocodiro;
the comparative study concerning the efficacy of organic products for the control of
OQDS in the focus area of xf – Biocoxy. Other projects look directly at the agricultural
typology as a possible solution. This is the case of the symbiotic agriculture, a “new”
practice focused on natural relations and processes that respect the microbiota of soil
and plants and use it to reactive the vitality, health, biodiversity and fertility of the soil
and, thus, the natural resistance of the plants to the attack of pathogens. In this regard, a
project based on some applications of a mix of beneficial bacteria and fungi applied to
olive plants with OQDS in 41 farms (total of 64 hectares), localised in 23 municipalities in
the focus area, has produced a vegetative recovery (www.tagpress.it/ambiente/
contrasto-xylella-codiro-agricoltura-simbiotica-20170123; http://www.zooassets.it/
micosat-f-olivo-contro-la-xylella/).
15 What is thus the core problem? Xylella fastidiosa or the leaf scorch symptoms and die-back
of twigs and branches? This is a crucial question for two basic reasons: first, the solution
depends on a correct vision of the problem, otherwise there is a risk to worsen the
situation; second, we debate with common goods and public resources, in other words a
territory that suffers the consequences of the phenomenon and undergoes the decisions
adopted by institutions in the ecological and socioeconomic fields; thirdly, the researches
are supported by public capital. We therefore propose data and reflections that could be
useful to the current debate.
The correlation between land use and plant disease
16 In the scientific literature, the poorness of the soils receiving chemical products and,
thus, the major vulnerability of plants to the pathogens and diseases has been well known
for long a time (Altman, Campbell, 1977; Mekwatanakarn, Sivasithamparam, 1987;
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Drinkwater et al., 1995). As regards herbicides and specifically the glyphosate, a broad-
spectrum herbicide widespread on the global scale, several problems have been observed:
a significant decrease in macro and micro nutrients in leaf tissues and in photosynthetic
parameters (Saes Zobiole et al., 2010), its interaction with plant nutrient availability (to
keep plant health), plant pathogens and disease development in crop plants, as well as
development of glyphosate-resistant weeds (Yamada et al., 2009). About problems of plant
nutrition and disease linked to glyphosate use, we point out the Special Issue of European
Journal of Agronomy (Kremer et al., 2009).
17 Some studies have established a correlation between plant disease, spread bacteria and
the use of herbicides, referring also to xf. Expressly, “various diseases caused by X.
fastidiosa are referred to as ‘emerging’ or ‘reemerging’ diseases as glyphosate weed
management programs for their respective crops have intensified. These diseases
(Pierce’s disease of grapevine, plum scorch, almond scorch, citrus variegated chlorosis,
coffee blight, citrus blight, alfalfa dwarf, pecan decline, etc.) are characterized by a loss of
vigor, slow decline, micronutrient deficiency, and reduced productivity. The pathogen is
an endophytic bacterium that colonizes xylem tissues and restricts nutrient translocation
when plants are stressed […] Glyphosate stimulation of fungal growth and enhanced
virulence of pathogens such as Fusarium, Gaeumannomyces, Phytophthora, Pythium, and
Xylella can have serious consequences for sustainable production of a wide range of
susceptible crops and lead to the functional loss of genetic resistance […]. Nutrient
balance is important because each element functions as part of a delicately balanced,
interdependent physiological system with the plant’s genetics and the environment”
(Johal, Huber, 2009, pp. 147-150). With regard to olive trees and their disease in California,
Krugner et al. (2014, p. 1186) affirm that “X. fastidiosa did not cause olive leaf scorch or
branch dieback but olive may contribute to the epidemiology of X. fastidiosa-elicited
diseases in California. Olive may serve as an alternative, albeit suboptimal, host of X.
fastidiosa. Olive also may be a refuge where sharpshooter vectors evade intensive area
wide insecticide treatment of citrus, the primary control method used in California to
limit glassy-winged sharpshooter populations and, indirectly, epidemics of Pierce’s
disease of grapevine”.
18 As regards specifically the OQDS in Apulia, some experts sustain that among the main
causes of the olive trees’ weakness there is the ten-year overdose of herbicides and
especially glyphosate that make plants more vulnerable to pathogens (Perrino, 2015). On
the other hand, the Italian herbicide resistance working (GIRE, 2016) has recently
detected the presence of glyphosate resistant weeds in the olive tree grove in the Lecce
province. Indeed, the Chamber of Deputies Agriculture Commission (7-00210, on 19
December 2013) recorded in the focus zone the olive decline symptoms spread here and
there, with a larger presence of diseased plants in soils where herbicides (especially the
Roundup by Monsanto with glyphosate) and fungicides are used in huge quantity than in
the fields cultivated according to organic methods (www.camera.it/leg17/410?
idSeduta=0141&tipo=atti_indirizzo_controllo). In that respect, already in 1974 in the
Gallipoli rural area (province of Lecce) olive plants damaged by herbicide were observed.
In this case the herbicide was the Bromacil used in a Citrus orchard that, absorbed by
roots, caused the consociated Olive trees the following symptoms: vein yellowing of
leaves followed by apical desiccation, abscission and defoliated twigs. The dose used was
4,5 kg/ha and the observed damages regarded also olive trees at a distance of more than
seven metres from the treated area (Luisi, De Cicco, 1975).
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19 Nevertheless, a huge amount of chemical products is used in the monocultures and in the
intensive agriculture. But in the Apulia Region these are localized in the North
(respectively in the Foggia and Bari provinces), which has not been affected by the
phenomenon. Furthermore, we have learned of the presence in the Lecce province, at
least, two experimental fields’ typologies: to verify the efficacy of new chemical products
against the anthracnose of olive trees and to implant the GIPP Project by Monsanto in
order to control the weeds by herbicides in olive orchards.
Methodology
20 The methodology is based on the inductive approach, the direct and indirect observation
of the phenomenon by official data. The data concerning the olive trees rapid decline
phenomenon and xf diffusion have been gleaned by the institutional reports and
documents (on European, national and regional level), as well as by the official Apulia
region website (http://sit.puglia.it/portal/portale_gestione_agricoltura/
ViewMenuPortletWindow?action=2&idsezione=542&nomesezione=Ulivi%20-%20Xylella%
20Fastidiosa&paginacms=null). So, in order to verify the possible correlation between
land use and OQDS diffusion we have observed on the regional scale the distribution of
the chemical products and on the provincial scale the distribution of the organic
agricultural lands. To this aim, we have used the official statistical data of the Italian
Statistics Institute (ISTAT). Referring specifically to the distribution of chemical products,
we have considered the provincial level and the 2003-2015 period, due to the data
availability. We have explicitly and repeatedly asked for a data elaboration on the local
scale, the municipal level, but the ISTAT answered as a first step that these data need a
specific elaboration, as a second step that the elaboration is not possible because “there is
not the exact representativeness of municipalities” and as a third step that “the data on
municipal level are not available”. These data could also be obtained from the sales books
or the treatments books regarding chemical products. But because they are private
documents, the access to these documents is subordinate to a voluntary act of the sellers
or the farmers. So, this condition precludes a priori the possibility of a consistent and
spatially significant data collect.
21 Referring to the presence of experimental fields learnt from the media, we have tried to
verify the news with the sources or the actors directly involved. As regards the
experimental fields against the anthracnose of olive trees, we have required and obtained
the sequestration’s decree. Meanwhile, as concerns the implantation of the GIPP Project
by Monsanto, we have asked the experimental fields’ location to the Apulia Region
government, but it has declared “to be unable to provide any results about the
experimentation” and that the regional offices do not know the requested elements.
Results
The diffusion of the herbicides
22 In general, the provinces of Foggia and Bari, with the largest agricultural land surface on
the regional level, are the first in the distribution of chemical products. But, if we read
the disaggregate data according to the product categories (fungicides, insecticides and
herbicides), we observe an “exception” about the distribution of the herbicides in the
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2003-2008 period. In fact, in this last case, in the first position we find the province of
Lecce (figure 4).
Figure 4. Apulia: the distribution of herbicides (kilograms) by province.
Source: own graphic on data by www.istat.it
23 These data present an apparent anomaly from a quantitative and qualitative viewpoint,
considering the agricultural land surface and the predominant agricultural model.
Indeed, the agricultural land surface (figure 5) of the Lecce province (161,130.94 hectares)
represents almost a third of the province of Foggia (495,111.10 ha), and a few over the
half of the province of Bari (268,312.23 ha).
Figure 5. Apulia: the agricultural land surface by province (hectares), 2010.
Source: own graphic on data by www.istat.it
24 Moreover, if we consider the relationship between herbicides distribution and agriculture
land surface, we observe an intensification of this apparent anomaly for amount and time
(figure 6). Indeed, in the Lecce province, where the first olive trees decline phenomenon
has been observed, the distribution of herbicides over the agricultural land surface is
until twice more than in the Bari province, and until four times more than in the Foggia
province. This apparent anomaly is visible from 2003 to almost 2010. We observe a similar
apparent anomaly in the Brindisi province that is the second for distribution of
herbicides over the agricultural land surface, from 2003 to 2010. The Brindisi province
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has been affected by the OQDS in a second time (since January 2015) with the recognition
of some focus in the Oria municipality’s fields (MPPAF, 2015, p. 31).
Figure 6. Apulia: the relationship between the distribution of herbicides (kilograms) and the
agricultural land surface (hectares) by province.
Source: own graphic on data by www.istat.it
25 This apparent anomaly can also be considered from a qualitative viewpoint because the
Lecce province is characterized by a small average agricultural field size (from 0.85 to
4.47 hectares). It does not overpass 2.04 hectares with reference to the municipalities
affected by the first olive trees decline symptoms, as well as by the initial and bigger
OQDS focus (figure 7). This means that the predominant agricultural model should be for
subsistence and local commerce. In theory, it should use less chemical inputs than both
the monoculture system (typical of Foggia province) and the intensive agriculture model
(widespread in the Bari province). Besides, this is confirmed by the distribution of
fungicides and insecticides, as well as of herbicides after 2009 at the provincial level. In
other words, the unexpected distribution concerns only a limited period (2003-2009) and
just one category (herbicides), while in the following time (after 2009) and referring to
different chemical products (fungicides and insecticides) the trend confirms the
theoretical expectations.
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Figure 7. Apulia: a) the map of average agricultural field size (hectares), 2011; b) the average
agricultural field size regarding the municipalities affected by the first olive trees decline
symptoms, as well as the initial and bigger OQDS focus (hectares), 2013.
Sources: a) www.istat.it; b) own table on data by www.istat.it
The experimental fields with chemical products
26 The Lecce province has also been the subject of two chemical experimentations. The first
regards experimental fields organized, in the 2010-2012 period, by the Apulia Region with
the University of Bari, the Consortium for the protection of intensive production and the
“Ugento e Li Foggi” Land Reclamation Authority. The aim was to verify the efficacy of
new chemical products against the anthracnose of olive trees and consent the ministerial
registration (Apulia Region, 2011ab).
27 These fields result localised in some municipalities where the first plant decline
symptoms have been observed (figure 8): Gallipoli, Taviano, Alezio (Procura della
Republica di Lecce, 2015).
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Figure 8. Lecce province: the municipalities with new chemical products experimental fields
promoted by the Apulia Region, 2010-2011.
Source: own map on data by Procura della Repubblica di Lecce (2015)
28 The second chemical experimentation relates to the implementation of the GIPP Project
by Monsanto, from 2011 until the 2013 Spring. It is a project to control the weeds in olive
orchards by the Roundup Platinum herbicide containing glyphosate (which is a systemic
and not a selective herbicide) and spraying machine with specific boards for treatments, 9
metres spraying length and 4 bar pressure. Currently, we know that tests have been made
for two years in the experimental farms in Lecce, Brindisi and Bari provinces (Monsanto,
2013), but the fields’ location is unknown.
The organic agriculture land
29 The zones with a higher presence of organic fields are located in the north-eastern part of
the Salento peninsula. Here, in the area included in the north-eastern municipalities
(Lecce and Squinzano) and south-eastern ones (Melendugno, Carpignano Salentino,
Castrignano dei Greci and Cursi), the average percentage of the relationship between
organic agricultural land and agricultural land is almost 17% (table 1) and it can reach
approximately 40% (figure 9a). This is also the area that, on the whole, appears less
affected by the OQDS and also specifically by xf (figure 9b).
30 On the other hand, in the western Salento area where the big focus was found, the
average percentage of the relationship between organic agricultural land and agricultural
land is 5.55% (with a minimum value round 0 and a maximum percentage of 11.83%), that
is to say less than a third of the north-eastern Salento average percentage (table 1).
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Table 1. The relationship between organic agricultural land and agricultural land, referring to
municipalities in the North-East Salento peninsula and in the OQDS big focus area, 2011.
Municipalities
in the north-eastern
Salento Peninsula
Relationship between
organic agricultural
land and agricultural
land %
Municipalities
in the OQDS big
focus area
Relationship between
organic agricultural
land and agricultural
land %
Lecce 15.37 Alezio 3.04
Calimera 20.58 Alliste 3.09
Caprarica 38.77 Collepasso 7.12
Carpignano S. 23.14 Gallipoli 10.91
Castri di Lecce 22.05 Matino 3.15
Castrignano 20.07 Melissano 7.58
Cavallino 20.17 Neviano 4.37
Cursi 15.58 Parabita 7.88
Lizzanello 11.56 Racale 0.06
Martano 18.46 Sannicola 1.36
Melendugno 17.12 Taviano 11.83
Martignano 6.00 Tuglie 6.23
Squinzano 17.83
Sternatia 14.35
Surbo 7.04
Trepuzzi 13.69
Vernole 12.61
Zollino 10.25
Average percentage 16.92 Average
percentage 5.55
Source: own table on data by ISTAT (http://gisportal.istat.it/bt.carto/bt.carto.html)
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Figure 9. South Apulia: a) the organic agricultural land, 2011; b) the xf diffusion, 2014.
Sources: a) www.istat.it; b) http://webapps.sit.puglia.it/freewebapps/MonitoraggioXFSintesi/
31 This is consistent with the international literature that shows that soil biochemical and
ecological characteristics of the organic agriculture appear better than those of the
conventional one (Gomiero, Pimentel & Paoletti 2011), and a higher biodiversity generally
reduces invasibility and, thus, a spread of pests and diseases (Letourneau, van Bruggen,
2006). According to FAO “A healthy plant is less vulnerable to pest and disease infestation
[…] The interaction between living organisms and their environment is crucial for a
plant's health. Plant's health is more at risk in monocultures and on-farm diversification
provides a balanced interaction between different plants and pests and predators. This is
why a well-managed ecosystem can be a successful way of reducing the level of pest or
disease population” (http://teca.fao.org/read/8372).
Discussion
32 On the regional scale, the above-mentioned data show a correlation between the OQDS
and a higher distribution of chemical products. In fact, in the Lecce and Brindisi
provinces affected by the OQDS, we have observed an unexpected distribution of
herbicides (2003-2010) that in 2007 (the previous year to the first plant decline
symptoms) amounted to the top both in absolute and relative value: 864,025 kg and
483,020 kg, respectively; 5.36 kg/ha and 4.04 kg/ha, respectively (figure 10a). In addition,
in the Lecce province, in the 2010-2011 period, experiments with new chemical products
have taken place in some municipalities where the first plant decline symptoms had been
noticed (Gallipoli, Taviano, Alezio). These are also the zones where the initial and bigger
OQDS focuses had been observed (figure 10b).
33 Data on distribution of chemical products on the local scale could be very important in
order to know in greater detail the above-mentioned correlation and make clearer the
initial and bigger OQDS focus origin, as well as to better understand the territorial
impact.
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Figure 10. a) Apulia: the relationship between the distribution of herbicides (kilograms) and the
agricultural land surface (hectares) by province, 2007; b) Lecce province: the municipalities with
the first plants decline symptoms (2008), the new chemical products experimental fields promoted
by Apulia Region (2010-2011), the initial and bigger OQDS focus (2014).
* Data of BAT province in 2007 are not available because ISTAT had not yet adopted the
new administrative partition established by regional law (n. 148/2004). Before 2004, the
municipalities of the current BAT province were part of the Bari and Foggia provinces.
Sources: a) own map on data by www.istat.it; b) own map on data by Procura della Repubblica di
Lecce (2015) and Apulia Region (2014)
34 The time evidence between the overdose of chemical products (especially herbicides) in
the Lecce province and the olive trees decline (figure 11) leads to the hypothesis that the
pathogens (fungi and bacteria) have damaged the weaker plants, that is to say those in
polluted and poor soils.
Figure 11. Lecce province: the time correlation between the distribution of chemical products and
the olive trees decline phenomenon.
Source: own figure
35 This hypothesis needs to be confirmed by a specific and interdisciplinary research project
in order to examine in depth and on the local scale the distribution and the use of
herbicides (and more generally of chemical products) in the province of Lecce, and to
control the health conditions of water and soil in the olive orchards affected by OQDS in
the focus area. Considering this, the weak point remains the phase of information
acquisition for two types of problems: the institutions' failure to provide the requested
information; the presence of sensitive information or private documents (sales or
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treatment books). This research project could produce important information that could
be useful to understand the Apulia phenomenon and to provide additional elements for
the controversy about OQDS diffusion. Furthermore, it could be of interest for a wider
debate on the dangerousness and the riskiness of chemical products, the land use and the
agricultural models.
36 On the provincial level, indeed, we have observed a significant difference between the
West and East with reference to the OQDS and, specifically, to xf diffusion. The eastern
zones, characterized by a higher presence of organic agricultural land, result less affected
than the western areas. This confirms the remarks in the above-mentioned report, as well
as the fact that it could lead to assume a positive correlation between organic agricultural
land and a major pathogen plant resistance. In other words, plants under a strong stress
by chemical inputs are weaker than others and thus have a higher possibility to get sick.
This could also explain why in the past no large diffusion of leaf scorch and die-back of
twigs and branches seems to have been recorded.
37 Furthermore, it could be very important to study of the relation between organic land
and the capacity of olive plants to react to the OQDS. Therefore, we propose two mapping
projects. The first refers to the organic lands in the focus area with the aim to learn the
olives’ reaction to OQDS. An interesting sample could be represented by the 26 organic
farms localised in the Lecce Province that filed a formal complaint with success against
the use of pesticides and chemical products mentioned in the governmental plan to
contrast xf ( http://aiab.it/index2016.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3072%
3Ail-tar-lazio-sospende-il-piano-silletti-per-aziende-bio-e-vivaisti-&catid=228%3Aban-9-
maggio-2015&Itemid=163). For this purpose, it is essential to collect quantitative and
qualitative information about the intensity of the phenomenon, the number of olive
plants affected by OQDS and their relationship to the total plants, as well as the number
of plants that have been cured.
38 The second mapping relates to agricultural typologies (organic, biodynamic,
regenerative, symbiotic, etc.), to natural practices and activities, as well as the scientific
experiments applied to cure olives, in order to check a possible correlation. A sample
could be the official data referring to the projects for stopping OQDS financed by the
Apulia Region (DD. n. 494/2015, 495/2015, 496/2015). To this, we could add a participative
map by the farmers, inhabitants, associations, etc. having experimented natural practices
against OQDS successfully. This experiment shows that agriculture typologies and land
use are not neutral in relation both to the goals and to the territorial impacts, with
special reference to the ecological and social dimensions. They can be a threat or a
safeguard for territory, cause health or disease, equilibrium or disequilibrium. If the
different forms of traditional agriculture generally sought to balance soil fertility
(Parascandolo, 2016), to maintain the hydrogeological, microclimatic and ecological
function of environmental systems safeguarding life (Altieri, 1995), modern agricultural
systems can be dangerous for health, environmental conditions, ecological equilibrium
and territorial economies. For example, the intensive/high density olive orchards
(between 250 and 700 plants per ha) or super-high-density orchards (that can present
densities over 1,500 plants/ha) originated in Spain in the 1990s (Freixa et al., 2011;
www.olivolio.net/superintensiva_en_htm), have a huge ecological and social impact due
to irrigation, a wide use of chemical products, as well as (in the second case) the totally
mechanized harvesting, pruning and planting that can remove the need for human
labour. Also the landscape suffers considerable changes as a consequence of the super
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increased densities of olive orchards and the lowered height of the trees, which
transforms the traditional fields in agro-industrial fields. For these reasons we think that
the proposition of developing in Apulia (as well as in other regions) a super intensive
model for olive orchards (Camposeo, Godini, 2010; Godini, 2010; Bellomo, D'Antonio, 2014)
is not a positive innovation for the territory.
39 A fact seems clear: a good governance of the countryside is not possible if trees are
perceived and managed as objects in a box to change according to the market interest,
and the territory as a banal space where one can move away the “undesired things”,
without taking into account the relations between physical and human elements. It
requires the knowledge and a prior consideration of the ecosystem relations (especially
referring to the vital matrices as water, soil, air and biodiversity) as well as a territorial
dimension (public health, local economy and cultural dimension). Therefore, policy
makers and economists, as well as entrepreneurs and peasants, should focus their
attention on the territory rather than on the market logic, and adopt a system approach.
This reflection could also offer elements of interest for the recent process of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, considering that the CAP has a great influence on
national policies and a tremendous power in the change of agricultural models.
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ABSTRACTS
The agricultural models and innovations are not neutral, in relation both to the goals and to the
territorial impacts, with special reference to the ecological and social dimensions. This
awareness has become the key to observe the olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) that has
affected the Apulia, a land of secular olive trees characterizing landscape and economy. By an
inductive approach and according to data on the provincial level, we have verified the
correlation between the ways of land use and the OQDS diffusion. In fact, in the Lecce and
Brindisi provinces affected by the phenomenon we have observed an unexpected distribution of
herbicides and the location of experimental fields with chemical products. The hypothesis is that
the pathogens have damaged the weaker plants, that is to say those in polluted and poor soils,
while the zones with a higher presence of organic agricultural land result less affected by the
OQDS. Data on the local scale could be very important to know the correlation in greater detail,
and make clearer the OQDS focus origin, as well as to better understand the territorial impact.
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Les modèles agricoles et les innovations ne sont pas neutres quant à leurs objectifs et leurs effets
territoriaux (notamment dans leurs dimensions écologique et sociale). Nous utilisons cette clé
d’observation pour analyser le complexe du dessèchement rapide des oliviers (CDRO) qui a
affecté les Pouilles, terre où les oliviers séculaires marquent le paysage et l’économie. Par une
approche inductive et sur la base des données à l’échelle provinciale, nous avons vérifié la
corrélation entre les modalités d’utilisation de la terre et la diffusion du CDRO. Dans les provinces
de Lecce et Brindisi, affectées par le phénomène, nous avons observé une distribution massive
d’herbicides et la présence de champs d’expérimentation de produits chimiques. L’hypothèse est
que les pathogènes ont affecté les plantes les plus faibles, c’est-à-dire celles qui sont dans des
terrains pauvres et pollués. Par contre, les zones moins affectées comptent une plus grande
présence de terrains conduits selon les modalités de l’agriculture biologique. Les données à
l’échelle locale pourraient aider à affiner l’étude des corrélations et à rendre plus claire l’origine
de l’épicentre du CDRO, ainsi qu’à mieux comprendre l’impact territorial.
INDEX
Mots-clés: modèle agricole, complexe du dessèchement rapide de l’olivier, Xylella fastidiosa,
herbicide, les Pouilles, Italie
Keywords: agricultural model, olive quick decline syndrome, Xylella fastidiosa, herbicide,
Apulia, Italy
AUTHOR
MARGHERITA CIERVO
University of Foggia, margherita.ciervo@unifg.it
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