This website posts the results of experimental treatments designed to control Pierce’s disease of grapevines. This is done with images of individual grapevines and associated measurements such as the ELISA test for presence of Xylella strains. The site is intended to provide the grower community a means to follow progress as it occurs and to provide PD researchers from anywhere in the United States a site to test control methods with the same monitoring potential if collaborating researchers wish.

The experimental vineyard is located in Agricultural Operations grounds of the University of California, Riverside. This is in the Quarantine Zone established by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The site was occupied by Chardonnay grapevines that were gradually killed by PD over a 3 year period.

Populations of the vector insect, Homalodisca vitripennis, the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (GWSS) are high in this location largely because of the extensive collection of citrus plants being used for research. Citrus is a preferred winter host of GWSS. Little or no control measures are taken to keep the populations of GWSS low.

Thus this experimental site is ideal for the production of PD in grapevines. It is expected that if control methods are able to prevent PD here, they will work at other locations in the Quarantine Zone and elsewhere.

For further information:

Webmaster: Lek Charoenkajonchai.

The Pierce’s Disease Trial website has launched last week. We are apologized for inconvenience. We still continue adding more contents and pages as we go. We will also post updates of field trail result on regular basis. Please visit our website or subscribe our RSS feed.