The University of Idaho, in collaboration with Miller Research and several crop consultants across the state, initiated a scouting program during the week of May 18 that covers commercial potato fields throughout southern Idaho. The project is funded in part by the Idaho Potato Commission, Idaho State Department of Agriculture and USDA. Thirteen fields are being monitored weekly with 10 yellow sticky cards, vacuum samples and leaf samples. Approximately 75 additional fields are being monitored weekly with four yellow sticky cards; scouting efforts in some fields (especially in eastern Idaho) are still being initiated.
The program’s first potato psyllid was found in Jerome County on a sticky card that was deployed May 27 and retrieved June 3. This psyllid has been sent to the main campus to be tested for liberibacter (Lso), the bacterium that causes zebra chip disease.
More sticky traps from this week remain to be read. By the end of this week Miller Research and UI will provide access to an online spreadsheet that shows results of the monitoring efforts and location of fields (by county).
More information and resources on potato psyllids and zebra chip, including management and scouting recommendations, can be found at this link.