Phytoplasmas and phytoplasma disease management: how to reduce their economic impact

The main objective was the enhancement and exchange of scientific knowledge and technologies related to phytoplasma diseases, through the establishment of a multidisciplinary scientific European Network, aimed at developing strategies to detect and prevent the biological invasion, and the spread of phytoplasma diseases of plants. To contain the threat from phytoplasma diseases due to increased exchange of propagation materials and to climate changes a collaborative sharing of scientific and technical knowledge to propose phytoplasma diseases sustainable management strategies was achieved. Main topics were: harmonization and dissemination of tools for phytoplasma and insect vector identification; methodology for deep sequencing/annotation of phytoplasma genome; phytoplasma detection in new areas and their association with new diseases; correlation between phytoplasmas and symptoms; dissemination of new management strategies for sustainable phytoplasma disease control.