Jun 9, 2014Psyllids found in Pacific Northwest
Potato psyllids have been found in Idaho, Oregon and Washington this spring. This is the earliest date for psyllids to be reported in the Pacific Northwest.
The University of Idaho in collaboration with Miller Research reported finding one psyllid on a yellow sticky trap in a potato field in Jerome County as well as psyllids in Twin Falls County on bitter nightshade sites. A previous report of psyllids found in Payette and Canyon counties in Idaho and Malheur County in Oregon was a case of misidentification. The psyllids tested negative for liberibacter, the disease that causes zebra chip.
Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC) found one psyllid in a commercial potato field in the Columbia Basin and two nymphs in experimental plots. According to the HAREC report, this citing is two weeks earlier than in previous years. The report advises that intensive trapping should begin now.
