The effects of crop diversity on potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) distribution

The potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli (Sûlc, 1909) is an agricultural pest that has been reported on over 20 families of plants. In potatoes, Solanum tuberosum L., the psyllid can cause feeding damage, but more importantly it can transmit a bacterium "Candidatus Liberibacter Solanacearum," which causes Zebra Chip disease. Tubers affected by the disease are unacceptable for sale or consumption. There are anecdotic reports of this insect in other crops such as wheat and corn, but it is speculated that it is probably due to the presence of volunteer potatoes in these crops. In addition to potato psyllids, other insect pests, non-pests, and beneficials may be affected by crop diversity.  Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) determine psyllid host preference in a diverse crop environment and to determine whether volunteer potatoes harbor psyllids in non-hosts crops and 2) determine the distribution of other insects and beneficials in diverse crops. Thus, potatoes, corn, weeds, corn planted with volunteer potatoes and weeds planted with volunteer potatoes were arranged in a Latin Square design. Psyllid adults, other insects including beneficials were collected with inverted leaf blowers, sticky cards, and leaf samples. Insect populations dynamic and distribution will be presented.