Aphrophoridae dynamic and feeding preference for plants in natural ground cover in olive groves from Trás-os- Montes
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Xylella fastidiosa was recently detected in several regions of Europe. This phytopathogenic
bacterium infects multiple plants species, among them important crops such as the olive tree.
Insects belonging to Aprophoridae are the main potential vectors of X. fastidiosa in Europe.
These insects are in general highly polyphagous, however they may prefer different plant
species or families of plants. Currently X. fastidiosa has not been detected in Portugal but
constitutes a serious risk since has been recently found in several regions from the Iberian
Peninsula. Particularly, the olive orchard suffers important damages in other regions from
Europe and the knowledge about potential vectors dynamics and feeding preferences is
crucial for establishing prevention and control strategies. In this context, the preference for
plants in natural ground cover and the dynamic of Aphrophoridae nymphs in olive orchards
from Portugal was studied. The work was accomplished during springs 2017 and 2018 in two
olive orchards. One of them was partially burned in 2016 and presented natural ground cover
vegetation abnormally vigorous and the other was under integrated production. The number
of plants with foams, the number of foams per plant, its position in the plant and the number of
nymphs per foam were recorded. More than 90 plant species belonging to around 18 plant
families were identified. One year after the fire, in 2017, more than 85% of the foams were
observed in the post-fire orchard, with more ground cover by Fabaceae and less by Poaceae
than the integrated orchard. In 2018 the Aphrophoridae abundance dramatically decreased.
Foams were found mainly in plants belonging to Asteraceae and Fabaceae. Several plant
families never presented foams. The obtained results will allow design a more efficient
management of the vegetation ground cover with the goal of decrease the risk of infection
with X. fastidiosa in Portuguese olive orchards.
