On 19 May 2026, ZDF Mittagsmagazin – one of the leading news programmes of German public television – dedicated an in-depth feature to the Xylella fastidiosa crisis in Puglia and to the work Save the Olives is carrying out to combat it.
The feature describes how this bacterium, which most likely arrived in Europe via a coffee plant from Central America, has been devastating Puglia’s olive groves for over a decade: approximately 22 million trees already lost, many of them centuries old, with profound consequences for the economy, the landscape and the cultural identity of entire communities.
At the heart of the report is also the scientific work of the CNR: researchers, including Donato Boscia, have spent years selecting olive varieties resistant to Xylella – varieties capable of surviving infection and continuing to produce fruit. It is a long and complex process, made more challenging by the difficulty of persuading farmers to replace trees that represent their history and their identity.
The feature also highlights the role of Save the Olives and the support of Helen Mirren, whose involvement has helped bring this emergency to international attention, as well as the importance of early grafting as a concrete preventive measure.
We are grateful to ZDF Mittagsmagazin for covering this crisis with sensitivity and rigour, helping to raise awareness of one of the most serious phytosanitary emergencies facing the Mediterranean.
Watch the full feature at this link starting from 1:23:32 https://www.zdf.de/video/magazine/zdf-mittagsmagazin-104/zdf-mittagsmagazin-vom-19-mai-2026-100
