Aster Leafhoppers In Winter Wheat

 

 

 

Aster leafhoppers and other species of leafhoppers were observed in large numbers in a winter wheat field near Aneta in Nelson County (source: Huso Crop Consulting). Aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus) and an unknown leafhopper (possibly a Chlorotettix species) were collected from fields by Leslie Lubenow. Both species of leafhoppers are known to vector aster yellows, although Chlorotettix species are not documented to feed on wheat. Most aster leafhoppers migrate into North Dakota on southerly wind fronts. Aster leafhoppers are small (1/8 of an inch), wedge-shaped and green to yellow with three pairs of spots on its head. Leafhoppers are active and mobile insects. These leafhoppers feed on plant sap and vector aster yellows, a phytoplasma disease.

 

As reported in the past issues of Crop & Pest Report, there is little research information on pest management of aster leafhoppers to minimize vectoring of aster yellows. So, it’s a good idea to scout fields regularly for influxes of large populations of aster leafhoppers. This pest has caused economic yield loss in wheat and canola in the past in North Dakota, especially in 2012.

 

Aster yellows is caused by a phytoplasma, an organism similar to a bacterium but without cell walls. Symptoms of aster yellows in wheat are similar to Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV). Aster yellows can cause yield loss in susceptible wheat varieties when infections are high. Plants are more susceptible to aster yellows during early growth stages. There is no economic threshold that has been developed for aster leafhopper in wheat or canola. However, you need both high densities of aster leafhoppers and high incidence of aster yellows being vectored by leafhoppers to cause significant yield losses. 

 

Please send me field reports of leafhoppers. We would like to collect leafhoppers and get them bioassayed in the laboratory to determine their infectivity of aster yellows.