One-kilometer security zone for the bacterial fire in Riudellots de la Selva

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARPA) has established a one-kilometer security zone around the fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) outbreak detected in the municipality of Riudellots de la Selva (Selva). The decision is formalized in Resolution ARP/3408/2026, of September 22, published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) no. 9759, of September 28, 2026, with the official reference CVE-DOGC-A-26266032-2026. The resolution, signed by the Director General of Agriculture and Livestock, Rosa Altisent i Rosell, enters into force on the day of its publication and immobilizes bee hives within a three-kilometer radius until October 31, 2026.

Fire blight is a pest caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora that attacks pome fruit trees and ornamental and wild plants of the Rosaceae family. Its ease of dissemination and the direct damage to plantations, along with the commercial repercussions of its establishment, make it a relevant economic threat to the Catalan agricultural sector.

A quarantine pest in a protected zone

The bacterium is included as a Union protected zone quarantine pest in Annex III of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, which considers Spain a protected zone with the exception of the regions of les Garrigues, la Noguera, el Pla d’Urgell, el Segrià, and l’Urgell. The action is framed within Article 14 of Law 43/2002, of November 20, on plant health, and Article 5 of Royal Decree 1201/1999, of July 9, which establishes the national program for the eradication and control of fire blight in Rosaceae.

Article 6 of the same royal decree and Article 6 of Order AAM/77/2015, of April 9, which declares the fight against this pest to be of public utility, provide for the establishment of a security zone with a minimum radius of one kilometer. The competence to declare the existence of the pest corresponds to the competent director general in matters of plant health, in accordance with Decree 137/2014, of October 7.

Obligations within the security zone

Within the one-kilometer radius around plot SIGPAC 17:159:6:45:1, the owners must comply with the following phytosanitary measures:

• Immediate uprooting and destruction in situ, under official control, of all host plants with symptoms and those in their immediate surroundings, without the need for prior bacteriological analysis.
• Preventive phytosanitary treatments during the periods determined by the competent general directorate for plant health.
• Removal of secondary blooms in all susceptible fruit trees within active foci and disinfection of tools.
• Prohibition of transporting host plants or plant parts outside the zone, including active pollen for pollination, except for fruits and seeds, without express authorization.
• Disinfection of pruning tools after each plant and of pruning machinery at the entrance to the plot.
• Investigation into the origin of the host plant material of the contaminated plot and the destinations of other shipments from the supplier establishment, for at least the twelve months prior to the confirmation of the focus.
• Recording of treatments and disinfections in the farm logbook.

The updated list of plots included in the safety zone is published on the official DARPA website, as the zone entirely affects some municipalities and only partially affects others.

Immobilized hives and mandatory winter relocation

Within a three-kilometer radius around the focus, bee hives must remain immobilized until October 31, 2026, unless express authorization is granted by the competent general directorate. Between November 1, 2026, and the start of the following flowering period, hives must be moved out of the safety zone and relocated at least five kilometers away. The introduction and movement of hives within this radius are subject to express authorization, and when the risk of spread is high due to proximity to the focus, the general directorate must order their destruction.

Three foci in two months in Gironès and Selva

The resolution comes after three consecutive detections in the protected area. On June 19, 2026, a plot in Campllong (Gironès) was inspected, with three samples collected and two positive, confirmed on July 3 by the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA). On June 29 and 30, pear trees in Cassà de la Selva were inspected, with 25 samples and eleven positives confirmed on July 13. Finally, on August 10, the focus in Riudellots de la Selva was detected, with 27 samples collected and eight positive, confirmed by the IVIA on August 27.

The two previous foci already prompted respective resolutions: Resolution ARP/2574/2026, of July 15, published in the DOGC on July 23, for the Campllong focus, and Resolution ARP/2763/2026, of July 30, published on August 4, for that of Cassà de la Selva.

The new security zone forces fruit growers and beekeepers in Selva and Gironès to modify their cultivation and hive management routines in the middle of the campaign, and maintains surveillance pressure on a pathogen that, if it spreads, could compromise the commercial viability of the region’s pome fruit farms. Against the resolution, which does not exhaust the administrative route, an appeal for reversal may be filed before the Food Secretariat of the DARPA within a period of one month.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9759, September 28, 2026, Other provisions, pp. 1-4 (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26266032-2026).