University of Idaho researchers collected their first samples from potato fields this week and found a potato psyllid on a sticky trap in a field in Twin Falls County. This is the first psyllid found in a potato field this season and the only one to be found in potato so far this week (though U of I is waiting to receive cards for several sites).
In addition, of the eight adult psyllids we collected last week from bittersweet nightshade in Twin Falls County, three (one each from three different sites in the canyon) tested positive for Lso, the bacterium that causes zebra chip. This is the first time that U of I has ever found positive psyllids from its bittersweet nightshade samples.
Given that this is the earliest potato psyllids have ever been found in potato—and the first time U of I has ever found positive psyllids from bittersweet nightshade—growers and crop consultants are strongly urged to have an IPM program in place and to begin local monitoring of fields.
Consult the University of Idaho Extension website for more information, including online spreadsheets that show details of the psyllid captures in potato fields.