After the October PD/GWSS Board meeting board members and other stakeholders toured local vineyards around Bakersfield to see firsthand the spread of Pierce’s disease (PD) being caused by the large increase in GWSS numbers during the 2015 season.
Board members talked with growers and others familiar with the problem and discussed what could be done to reverse the current trend in GWSS populations causing the spread of PD.
“The increases in GWSS numbers we are seeing may be due to warmer than typical winters the past few years,” said USDA GWSS Program Director Beth Stone-Smith. “But there are certainly other variables potentially impacting the situation as well.”
Discovering what is happening in Kern County is key to reducing the impact of PD on those living with GWSS in this and other areas, and will aid in mitigating the natural and artificial spread of GWSS to new areas.
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