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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363638
Research Project: Systems Approach for Managing Emerging Insect Pests and Insect-Transmitted Pathogens of Potatoes

Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research

Title: Dispersal of Bactericera cockerelli (Hemiptera: Triozidae) in relation to phenology of Lycium barbarum (Solanaceae)

Author
item Cooper, William - Rodney
item Horton, David
item THINAKARAN, JENITA - University Of Idaho
item KARASEV, ALEXANDER - University Of Idaho

Submitted to: Journal of British Columbia Entomological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/27/2019
Publication Date: 1/31/2020
Citation: Cooper, W.R., Horton, D.R., Thinakaran, J., Karasev, A.V. 2020. Dispersal of Bactericera cockerelli (Hemiptera: Triozidae) in relation to phenology of Lycium barbarum (Solanaceae). Journal of British Columbia Entomological Society. 116:25-39.

Interpretive Summary: Potato psyllid is a key pest of potato in western North America that colonizes crops from non-crop habitats. Researchers at the USDA-ARS in Wapato, WA and University of Idaho found that potato psyllids in the Pacific Northwest occur on a non-native shrub called matrimony vine. This shrub enters a period of dormancy during summer during which the leaves fall from the plant. This summer leaf fall causes potato psyllids to disperse from matrimony vine to new seasonally available hosts, which may include potato. These results will help researchers identify the likely weed sources of potato psyllids that colonize commercial potato fields in the Pacific Northwest.

Technical Abstract: Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) is a key pest of potato and tomato in western North America. Native Lycium (Solanales: Solanaceae) in the southwestern United States have been known since the early 1900s to support populations of B. cockerelli. These shrubs are adapted to survive arid habitats by entering a summer dormancy characterized by partial or complete defoliation. Summer leaf fall by native Lycium in the southwestern U.S. triggers the dispersal of B. cockerelli to new seasonally available hosts including potato. Recently, B. cockerelli in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) was found to occur on a non-native Lycium known as matrimony vine. Monitoring of matrimony vine at several locations in previous years suggested qualitatively that this non-native shrub in the Pacific Northwest also entered a summer dormancy with effects on psyllids populations. Our study had two principal objectives: 1) clarify the genetic and morphological diversity of matrimony vine in potato growing regions of the Pacific Northwest, and 2) examine the relationship between matrimony vine phenology and B. cockerelli dispersal. We report that “matrimony vine” in Washington State includes at least two morphologically distinct varieties of a single non-native species, L. barbarum. Like the native Lycium species in the desert southwestern U.S., matrimony vine in Washington entered a period of summer dormancy in response to low soil moisture, and the onset of summer dormancy was associated with dispersal of B. cockerelli from the matrimony vine host, with potato being a potential destination for some of those dispersing psyllids.