YOUR PRODUCTION
3 ADULTS and nymphs of tomato potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli).
BY DR SONYA BROUGHTON, DR VINEETA BILGI, EMMA MANSFIELD, DR FRANCIS DE LIMA AND ROHAN PRINCE DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
T
he tomato potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) was first found in New Zealand in 2006 and on the Australian territory of Norfolk Island in 2015. The first detection of tomato potato psyllid (TPP) on the Australian mainland occurred in the Perth metropolitan region in February, 2017.
20
WA Grower SPRING 2020
The first detection of TPP on the Australian mainland occurred in February, 2017. The pest is native to central and North America where it infests a wide range of plants. TPP is an insect pest of plants belonging to the Solanaceae family including capsicum, chilli, eggplant, tomato and tamarillo, and some to the Convolvulaceae family such as sweet potato. Several annual and evergreen weed plants, such as nightshade, are also hosts of the pest. Damage is caused to plants when adults and immature stages (nymphs) feed on the plant through their long sucking mouth parts, causing yellowing of the foliage. As they feed, TPP secrete sugars, which appear as white sugar-like granules that can promote development of black sooty moulds and reduce photosynthesis. TPP can also damage tomatoes and potatoes by infecting plants with a bacterial disease, Candidatus liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), also known as zebra chip. Fortunately, this
disease has not been found to date in Western Australia. Industry stakeholders in the Eastern States and territories are concerned about the impact of TPP if it were to spread to their jurisdictions.
The current strategy is to confine TPP to the areas it is present, prevent its spread, monitor for TPP in other jurisdictions, and minimise its impact on domestic and international trade. The project, ‘Alternative disinfestation for market access for crops affected by tomato potato psyllid’ (VG17015), was initiated in 2019 by DPIRD in collaboration with vegetablesWA and Hort Innovation. The project has been funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.
PHOTO © PIA SCANLON, DPIRD
Western Australian research on TPP develops treatments for market access of affected crops
