In southern Italy, a plant pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa has been ushering in an agricultural, environmental, and political crisis. The infection is affecting olive trees, which are a critical part of Italian culture and heritage. Containment of this epidemic would require cutting down trees to prevent the spread of the disease. But that recommendation has been met with resistance by the locals, who have produced various conspiracy theories to explain why people are trying to get rid of their trees.

If this crisis is not resolved soon, the infection could spread throughout the region and cause serious plant losses in Europe and the Mediterranean, according to a new perspective in Science Magazine.

X. fastidiosa is a bacterial species that feeds on the xylem of plants and is spread by insects. In the past, the most severe economic effects of the X. fastidiosa were felt in the US and Brazil. These countries now have control plans that are deployed to reduce the spread of this disease, including reducing the insect population that spreads the disease and removing infected plants from areas with outbreaks. Currently, France has implemented similar procedures in response to the presence of the disease in Italy, but no such actions have been taken in southern Italy.