A novel plant pathogen management tool for vector management.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Entomology
• Plant Pathology
• Integrated Pest Management

Background:

• Traditional decision support systems prioritize direct insect damage.
• Effective disease management requires tailored systems for insect-borne plant pathogens.
• A gap exists in decision support linking diagnosticians to vector management, complicated by insect population dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a decision support tool integrating insect monitoring, disease diagnostics, and communication for managing phytoplasma diseases.
• To address the lack of systems connecting diagnosticians with vector management strategies.

Main Methods:

• Integrated monitoring of aster leafhoppers (Macrosteles quadrilineatus) and aster yellows phytoplasma.
• Utilized rapid disease diagnostics and web-based text messaging for communication.
• Conducted field studies in carrots and celery from 2014-2019.

Main Results:

• 8,343 aster leafhoppers were collected; 99 were infected with phytoplasma.
• Text messaging intervention led to a reduction in infected leafhoppers.
• Temporal patterns of infected leafhopper density showed a 2-week similarity in celery but not carrots, and varied between farms.

Conclusions:

• Farmers should utilize temporal and spatial patterns of infected leafhoppers for effective management of aster yellows phytoplasma.
• The integrated approach combining monitoring, diagnostics, and communication demonstrates the utility of the developed decision support tool.