Washington State University (WSU) found potato psyllids on sticky cards in four monitoring network fields last week, and crop consultants submitted six more.
It looks like things are picking up. So far this season, potato psyllids have been seen moving into potato fields near George, Moses Lake, Basin City, Eltopia, and Pasco. Since this covers most of the region, I would assume that potato fields anywhere in the Basin could see an influx of potato psyllids. It is time to watch for the first flights of potato psyllids. ClickHERE for a guide to monitoring potato psyllids using yellow sticky cards. If you would like some assistance or advice about monitoring potato psyllids, feel free to contact Carrie Wohleb at cwohleb@wsu.edu.
SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF PSYLLIDS: The graph below tracks the weekly distribution of potato psyllids to potato fields during the season, and compares results from 2013 to 2019. Potato psyllids spread very quickly in 2016, but very slowly in 2017 and 2018. If the 2019 trend follows the same trajectory, then we can expect to see potato psyllids in more potato fields than we did in 2017 and 2018.
