FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — “The Glassy-winged Sharpshooter itself is not the problem. It’s actually the vector for Pierce’s disease,” said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
It is that bacterial disease that is highly problematic to plants, not people.<\/p>\n
“It’s purely a plant disease. Something that we’re concerned about because it can devastate a vineyard; it can spread fairly rapidly, and it goes from vine to vine using the glassy-winged sharpshooter as a vector,” said Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
Ag commissions in Central and Northern California are on alert after the invasive insect, that looks similar to a cricket, was detected in shipments of grapevines from Burchell Nursery in Fowler to some Costco stores around April 21.<\/p>\n
“The concern is, is that the homeowner takes that pest home and potentially spreads it to neighboring commercial vineyards at this point. And so, we’re hopeful that’s not the case,” said Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
In most cases, officials say homeowners will not know if a sharpshooter is hiding in the grapevine.<\/p>\n
“This is one of those things that it doesn’t really stick out, quite bluntly by the time you get home, it may have jumped already,” said Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
In a statement to Action News, Burchell Nursery said it is “working closely” with the Fresno County Ag Commission.<\/p>\n
The threat is not isolated to shipments in the Central Valley.<\/p>\n
Sacramento inspectors have destroyed more than 160 grapevines.
In Napa, the agricultural commissioner reported that 63 of the 220 grapevines delivered were destroyed, with one egg mass found.<\/p>\n
“This is so critical that we’ve caught it now at this point, and we try to be as quickly and robustly reactive as possible,” said Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
Jacobsen says this is not anything new.
According to the USDA, the 2005 Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter outbreak was part of an ongoing agricultural crisis in California, which is why there is an extensive statewide trapping and monitoring program in place.<\/p>\n
“We need to combat and continue to get out there and try to, on the full force, try to suppress those populations,” said Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
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