- Author: Dennis O'Brien
- Editor: Stephen J. Vasquez
When an insect pierces the surface of a plant to feed, much of the action takes place in the plant's interior. A device called the Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) is a critical tool for peering into the process.
Now a new type of EPG developed by U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologists is giving scientists the clearest view yet of the wars waged between piercing-sucking insects and the plants they attack.
The EPG was developed by Elaine Backus at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, in Parlier, California,...
- Author: Stephen J. Vasquez
It has been several years since Pierce’s disease (PD), the debilitating grapevine disease caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, has caused significant problems for San Joaquin Valley vineyards. PD dropped off the radar of valley grape industries and growers partly due to other invasive grape pests (vine mealybug, EGVM, etc.) inhabiting vineyards and to a low incidence of PD found throughout the valley. However, in recent months glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) has been trapped in...
