Giancarlo Galan, Italy's Minister of Agriculture, has confirmed the development of a plan to combat the recent outbreak and spread of bacterial infection Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae, also known as kiwifruit canker, in a number of Italian kiwifruit orchards.
According to Mr Galan, funds have been made available to investigate the disease and research possible ways of preventing it.
'The Ministry has been paying attention to the bacteria's aggression, which is hitting kiwifruit production in Latina and other regions, for some time and a research plan in collaboration with the regions worst affected – Latina, Emilia Romagna and Piedmont – has been put together,' he said.
The investigation will be overseen by the Italian Agricultural Research and Experimentation Council's national phytosanitary committee, with the Ministry of Agriculture understood to be preparing guidelines for growers and suppliers to aid the prevention and control of the disease.
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