Xylella Fastidiosa: The Bacterium Devastating Puglia’s Olive Trees

The ancient trees of the Piana degli Ulivi Monumentali line a flat stretch of land along the Adriatic sea between Ostuni and Monopoli, in Puglia. They’re monumental in size and age, some estimated to be even 1,000 years old. And they are under threat. 

For almost 10 years, the disease has been destroying entire groves of olive trees farther south, in Salento, leaving fields of desiccated carcasses in its wake. 

The presence of Xylella is destroying a vit