Italy's first dog unit specialized in sniffing out the Xylella fastidiosa plant pathogen, which has been killing olive trees in southern Italy after first being detected in Puglia in 2013, was presented at San Martino a Fasano, near Brindisi, on Tuesday.
The detection dogs are capable of finding the pathogen in the early stages, before the symptoms appear, and, used at nurseries and areas where plants are imported such as ports, they could be vital in the battle against it .
The unit is made up of six dogs - two Jack Russells, a Belgian Shepherd, a bloodhound, a Labrador retriever and a springer spaniel.
The project is the result of cooperation between several bodies, including Italian national dog agency ENCI, farmers association Coldiretti and the national research council (CNR).
It started with specialist training in the Salento area of southern Italy in June with dogs that were already expert detectors.
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