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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348952
Research Project: Identification of Novel Management Strategies for Key Pests and Pathogens of Grapevine with Emphasis on the Xylella Fastidiosa Pathosystem

Location: Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research

Title: Mating disruption of Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) by playback of vibrational signals in vineyard trellis

Author
item Krugner, Rodrigo
item Gordon, Shira

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2018
Publication Date: 3/30/2018
Citation: Krugner, R., Gordon, S.D. 2018. Mating disruption of Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) by playback of vibrational signals in vineyard trellis. Pest Management Science. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4930.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4930

Interpretive Summary: Glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis, is an important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine. Current control methods for GWSS in California include broadcast applications of insecticides, which negatively affect biological control agents and have resulted in insecticide resistance in GWSS populations. Therefore, alternative methods of control are needed. GWSS communicate by exchanging mating calls that are transmitted through host plants as vibrational signals. Interference with GWSS communication by playback of disruptive signals should lead to reduced birth rates and population growth, but research was needed to evaluate efficacy of the novel vibrational signal playback method in disrupting GWSS mating under field conditions and to evaluate properties of signal transmission through vineyard trellis. Although playback of vibrational signals through vineyard trellis was affected by distance from signal source, the signal significantly reduced mating of GWSS on grapevines compared to control. Although further studies are needed prior to method implementation, data from this study continue to support application of vibrational mating disruption as a novel method to control GWSS populations.

Technical Abstract: BACKGROUND: Glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is an important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine. Area-wide applications of neonicotinoid insecticides have suppressed GWSS populations for ca. 25 years, but reduced levels of insecticide susceptibility have been reported. Therefore, alternative methods of control are needed. Objectives of this study were to evaluate efficacy of a vibrational signal playback in disrupting mating in GWSS and evaluate spectral properties of signal transmission through vineyard trellis. RESULTS: Playback reduced mating of GWSS on grapevines. A total of 28 (out of 134) male-female pairs mated in the control treatment (silence) and only one (out of 134) pair mated when treated with the vibrational signal playback. Playback of vibrational signals through vineyard trellis was affected by distance from signal source, with frequency composition and intensity being the highest at the signal source and lowest on vines positioned away from the source. Frequency composition in canes housing test insects decreased non-linearly as distance from the source increased, whereas intensity of analyzed frequencies decreased linearly. CONCLUSION: Although further studies are needed prior to method implementation, data from this study continue to support application of vibrational mating disruption as a novel method to control GWSS populations.