Zebra chip disease, caused by a bacterium carried by insects, can ruin a potato crop; but little is known about where it comes from and how it can be avoided.
“If a field is found to be infected, that can lead to rejection of an entire crop,” said Bill Snyder, a WSU entomology professor and co-lead on the grant. “Potatoes are expensive to grow, so an outbreak can cause millions of dollars in losses.
“Farmers often don’t know their field is infected until their potatoes go to the processor,” he said. “They may not find out until winter that their crop is worthless – just when they’re ready to get paid.”
In August, Washington State University Extension researchers found the bugs on 79 percent of field samples throughout the Lower Columbia Basin, up from 60 percent the week before and 50 percent the week before that. Each sample contained an average of 3.1 psyllids, up from 0.6 the week before.
See WSU News at https://news.wsu.edu/?p=142251
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