POTATO PSYLLID UPDATE: MORE PSYLLIDS CAUGHT

More potato psyllids were trapped last week in potato fields in Canyon, Ada, Elmore, Gooding, Jerome and Twin Falls Counties. In addition, we trapped our first potato psyllids in Owyhee and Minidoka Counties. In addition to the counties listed above, in a previous week we had also captured a psyllid in Cassia County. All the psyllids tested from last week were negative for Lso, the bacterium that causes zebra chip. So far, over 100 potato psyllids have been collected this year in U-Idaho monitoring programs; of the 64 psyllids tested so far, only 3 have been positive for Lso (less than 5 percent incidence). In contrast, by this time last year roughly 50 percent of the psyllids collected were positive for Lso. It is important to note, however, that despite finding only a handful of Lso+ psyllids in the Columbian basin last year, zebra chip was still found. Detailed monitoring results and management recommendations can always be found at the link provided below: http://extension.uidaho.edu/kimberly/2013/04/2013-psyllid-updates/.