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Rodrigo Krugner, an entomologist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Parlier, California, has found an innovative way to control insect pests in California vineyards: tapping into the vibrational signals they use as mating calls.
Krugner’s efforts have mainly focused on glassy-winged sharpshooters, which spread a bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease in vineyards and costs the California grape industry an estimated $104 million a year. Growers use chemical sprays to control the pests, but insecticides also kill beneficial insects, leave residues, and become less effective as the insects develop resistance.
University of California. Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.
Pest Notes are peer-reviewed scientific publications about specific pests or pest management topics, directed at California's home and landscape audiences.
Google. YouTube; USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
Scientists with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in central California are using sound to control insects that spread disease in grape vineyards.
In California's San Joaquin Valley, scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have a sharpshooter, and the pathogen it spreads, in their crosshairs. ARS Scientists in California are devising strategies to combat pests that cause over $100 million in damage to the grape industry. See also: Down on the Farm archives