Mysterious disease is killing kiwi orchards in Italy
Ricardo Lopes
Published 2020년 10월 9일
In Italy, kiwi trees are dying en masse and scientists don't know why. As announced by the Italian Government, there is already a taskforce studying the “mysterious” disease, still without cure, which is devastating the kiwi orchards in the country and leaving scientists perplexed.
The leaves wither and turn downward as if to escape the sun, the roots darken and rot. Then the leaves fall: within 10 days they disappear, leaving the kiwis exposed to the sun. Within a year or two, the plant will dry out and eventually die.
"Damage to production is causing serious suffering to farms," said Italian agriculture minister Teresa Bellanova, quoted by The Guardian. The official considers the situation an "emergency" and believes that the country needs the "help of all experts".
After appearing near Verona in 2012, the syndrome that farmers are calling morìa has devastated areas where kiwis thrive for decades. Recent estimates suggest that it now affects 25% of kiwi orchards in Italy - the world's second largest producer of the fruit, above New Zealand and below China.
The syndrome is causing farmers hundreds of millions of euros in losses. In some places, the number of affected plants has risen to 80%. However, the researchers say the real numbers could be even higher. As the syndrome starts at the roots, it can spread without being observed until the symptoms of the first leaf. By that time, the disease is already too advanced.
“It is like the new coronavirus: when the symptoms appear, it is already too late”, compares Gianni Tacconi, a genomic researcher at the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, who has been studying kiwi since the early 2000s. “It is difficult for humans to heal; for kiwis, I would say it is impossible ”, he stressed, quoted by The Guardian.
Researchers looked for the cause in irrigation practices, bacteria, fungi, soil composition and specific replanting diseases - but found no clear culprit, as the more they studied, the more anomalies emerged.
The syndrome affects old and young plantations, on virgin soil and on decades-old farms. Studies have found a kaleidoscope of different pathogens in diseased trees, however, none were present in all diseased plants.
Scientists believe that several factors, such as water, soil oxygen levels, global warming and fungi, are at stake, but cannot explain how or why the disease has spread so much in areas where growing kiwi used to be easy.
Researchers have observed similar symptoms in kiwi orchards in France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Japan and China. However, nowhere have they been as “explosive” as in Italy. Near Verona, the syndrome affected 84% of the trees.
The leaves wither and turn downward as if to escape the sun, the roots darken and rot. Then the leaves fall: within 10 days they disappear, leaving the kiwis exposed to the sun. Within a year or two, the plant will dry out and eventually die.
"Damage to production is causing serious suffering to farms," said Italian agriculture minister Teresa Bellanova, quoted by The Guardian. The official considers the situation an "emergency" and believes that the country needs the "help of all experts".
After appearing near Verona in 2012, the syndrome that farmers are calling morìa has devastated areas where kiwis thrive for decades. Recent estimates suggest that it now affects 25% of kiwi orchards in Italy - the world's second largest producer of the fruit, above New Zealand and below China.
The syndrome is causing farmers hundreds of millions of euros in losses. In some places, the number of affected plants has risen to 80%. However, the researchers say the real numbers could be even higher. As the syndrome starts at the roots, it can spread without being observed until the symptoms of the first leaf. By that time, the disease is already too advanced.
“It is like the new coronavirus: when the symptoms appear, it is already too late”, compares Gianni Tacconi, a genomic researcher at the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, who has been studying kiwi since the early 2000s. “It is difficult for humans to heal; for kiwis, I would say it is impossible ”, he stressed, quoted by The Guardian.
Researchers looked for the cause in irrigation practices, bacteria, fungi, soil composition and specific replanting diseases - but found no clear culprit, as the more they studied, the more anomalies emerged.
The syndrome affects old and young plantations, on virgin soil and on decades-old farms. Studies have found a kaleidoscope of different pathogens in diseased trees, however, none were present in all diseased plants.
Scientists believe that several factors, such as water, soil oxygen levels, global warming and fungi, are at stake, but cannot explain how or why the disease has spread so much in areas where growing kiwi used to be easy.
Researchers have observed similar symptoms in kiwi orchards in France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Japan and China. However, nowhere have they been as “explosive” as in Italy. Near Verona, the syndrome affected 84% of the trees.
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