The Mediterranean region represents one of the world’s most important agricultural production zones and is therefore inherently susceptible to emerging plant diseases and dependent on the availability of appropriate pesticides. In particular, olive agriculture presents an integral economic pillar, with 95% of the world’s olive tree population concentrated in this area. However, orchards are exposed to an unparalleled threat, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which is considered one of the most dangerous plant pests worldwide. Notwithstanding, currently no treatment of diseased trees under field conditions is available. At the same time, the European Union (EU) has committed to a sustainable food strategy through ambitious legislative proposals, such as the European Commissions’ Green Deal and the EU Farm to Fork strategy, which have a clear focus on reducing the dependency on pesticides and fostering the use of non-chemical alternatives. Nonetheless, plant diseases are omnipresent and plant protection products are indispensable to safeguard crops. Hence, these legislative requirements will have a considerable impact on both EU and international farming. Given that at this point, the availability and efficiency of non-chemical plant protection products are still limited, viable and effective alternatives are urgently needed.
Thus, the aim of this project was to develop a novel biological plant protection system (SMART-AGRI-SPORE) targeting X. fastidiosa infections in olive groves. It combined for the first time the use of bacterial spores with the controlled release of antimicrobial peptides in an agricultural application to provide a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides.
The work could show that several indigenous spore-formers of Spanish olive groves inherently possess antagonistic activity against X. fastidiosa. These bacteria were derived from the soil, as well as from the leaf interior (endophytic).
