Development of American sycamore as a hardwood pulp plantation tree is limited by a leaf scorch disease caused by a bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. The bacterium causes many plant diseases including Pierce’s disease of grape which is transmitted by the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata. Here, we demonstrate that the glassy-winged sharpshooter is capable of transmitting X. fastidiosa to sycamore by caging infected leafhoppers on uninfected sycamore seedlings and assaying for X. fastidiosa by ELISA.