Join The Community


Over 200 researchers and growers congregate at Pierce’s Disease.org. Come join the conversation. Enter your email to get regular news and updates.

Your Email
Browse by year

2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Most recent news

  • State cuts affecting Texas wine industry
    WOAI Jan. 31, 2012

    Especially cuts in research to prevent problems like Pierces disease - a devastating bacteria carried by bugs. Holmberg put it this way."You dont want to see that slip because there are things that will not be good for growing grapes in Texas. and more ...


  • Texas wine industry suffering after budget cuts
    WOAI Jan. 31, 2012

    Especially cuts in research to prevent problems like Pierces disease - a devastating bacteria carried by bugs. Holmberg put it this way. "You dont want to see that slip because there are things that will not be good for growing grapes in Texas. and more ...


  • On the whole, milder winter works in favor of the 2012 grape crop
    Patriot-News Jan. 29, 2012

    (blog) "In southern regions, such as North Carolina and southern Virginia, is Pierces Disease . To decrease the spread of that disease, its really preferable that we get a couple of nights below 15 degrees to try and keep that disease in check ...


  • UCR scientist tackles Rwandan coffee scourge
    North County Times Jan. 16, 2012

    UCR scientist tackles Rwandan coffee scourge North County Times The university has developed a reputation for expertise in combating agricultural pests, such as the glassy winged sharpshooter that threatened grape vines in Temecula in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The university focuses on threat ...


  • Expert: Bugs fight bugs best
    The Desert Sun Jan. 12, 2012

    Expert: Bugs fight bugs best The Desert Sun He and fellow scientists found the combatant for the glassy-winged sharpshooter , which threatened Californias wine and table grape industries in the 1990s. Since releasing a parasitic wasp into the vineyards about 10 years ago, there has been a 93 ...


  • With or without climate change, Napa maintains green focus
    Napa Valley Register Jan. 8, 2012

    With or without climate change, Napa maintains green focus Napa Valley Register Historically, the countys agricultural community has done a tremendous job dealing with more immediate threats like invasive pests, most recently the glassy-winged sharpshooter , the light brown apple moth and the Europ ...


  • Napa State, housing top county's legislative agenda
    Napa Valley Register Jan. 6, 2012

    Napa State, housing top countys legislative agenda Napa Valley Register County officials would also like to see funding for the continued battle in the Napa Valley against the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the European grapevine moth. They would like to see the state and federal government adopt l ...


  • Grape growers fend off thieves, pests
    Fresno Business Journal Jan. 5, 2012

    Grape growers fend off thieves, pests Fresno Business Journal The sharpshooter spreads Pierces Disease that can stunt growth and wipe out large areas of grapevines. One of the problems with the two kinds of sharpshooters is that they tend to move from citrus and alfalfa crops to grapevines ...


  • Business is going 'grape' at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards
    Herald Zeitung Jan. 5, 2012

    Business is going grape at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards Herald Zeitung But in 2000, tests confirmed that the vineyard was infested with Pierces disease , a bacterial pathogen that kills grape vines. The growers twice ripped out entire crops of diseased vines. “We had to decide to fold up shop or find ...


  • California wine industry finding friend in western bluebird
    Western Farm Press Jan. 4, 2012

    California wine industry finding friend in western bluebird Western Farm Press Jedlicka found that placing nesting boxes on vineyard plots lures in populations of the entirely insectivorous bird, which in turn can fend off insect-borne blights such as the deadly Pierces disease . After placing piec ...


  • The sting of the vines: Scientists con Pierce's germs and their sharpshooting ...
    Santa Cruz Sentinel Dec. 25, 2011

    The sting of the vines: Scientists con Pierces germs and their sharpshooting ... Santa Cruz Sentinel But this was just the beginning of a statewide killing spree by a new duo behind Pierces disease: the sap-sucking insect known as the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the vine-choking bacteria Xylella ...


  • Lets Talk: A Story of Interspecies Communication
    Biofortified Dec. 13, 2011

    We have shown that not only is Ax21 present in important plant pathogens such as Xanthomonas, which infects virtually all crop plants and in a microbe that causes Pierces disease on grapes, but it is also present in a human pathogen that infects ... and more ...


  • Looking Back in Lemoore
    Hanford Sentinel Nov. 29, 2011

    Looking Back in Lemoore Hanford Sentinel The bill provides funding for the containment, and research of Pierces Disease , a vineyard-destroying disease spread by the glassy-winged sharpshooter that has hit several Valley counties in previous years. Also included in the bill is $4 million for ...


  • UCSC Grad Finds Bluebird–Wine Connection
    SantaCruz.com Nov. 17, 2011

    Jedlicka found that placing nesting boxes on vineyard plots lures in populations of the entirely insectivorous bird, which in turn can fend off insect-borne blights such as the deadly Pierces disease ...


  • Hundreds of winemakers meet in Rochester
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Nov. 13, 2011

    Hundreds of winemakers meet in Rochester Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Montgomery likes dry red wines, but the bacterial Pierces disease , to which no vinifera grapes have resistance, is prevalent ...


  • El Cerrito Prof's Bumper Crop of Info on California Farming
    Patch.com Nov. 4, 2011

    The field guide deals with other threats to California farming, ranging from the glassy-winged sharpshooter to climate change to suburbanization. But on the whole, Starrs remains upbeat, encouraged b ...


  • Zebra chip a growing potato industry concern
    Western Farm Press Oct. 21, 2011

    Zebra chip a growing potato industry concern Western Farm Press Prior to coming to Amarillo, he was working on pathogen-vector-plant interactions at the University of California, Berkeley relating to ...


  • US: Scientist tackles complexity of growing zebra chip disease
    FreshPlaza Oct. 20, 2011

    Prior to coming to Amarillo, he was working on pathogen-vector-plant interactions at the University of California, Berkeley relating to another vector-borne disease system, Pierces disease of grapevi ...


  • A Wine Awakening?
    Myrtle Beach Sun News Oct. 20, 2011

    A Wine Awakening? Myrtle Beach Sun News Two bugs, prominent in the Southeast, carry and spread a bacterial malfunction known as Pierces Disease - a disease that can decimate whole harvests of grapes. ...


  • New scientist tackles complexity of growing zebra chip disease
    Southwest Farm Press Oct. 19, 2011

    New scientist tackles complexity of growing zebra chip disease Southwest Farm Press Prior to coming to Amarillo, he was working on pathogen-vector-plant interactions at the University of California, ...


  • New scientist tackles complexity of growing zebra chip disease
    AgriLife Today Oct. 19, 2011

    AgriLife Today New scientist tackles complexity of growing zebra chip disease AgriLife Today Prior to coming to Amarillo, he was working on pathogen-vector-plant interactions at the University of Cal ...


  • Insects may cause flowering plum tree sickness; mites harm tomatoes, squash
    Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Oct. 15, 2011

    Insects may cause flowering plum tree sickness; mites harm tomatoes, squash Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Another - but less likely - possibility is a bacterial disease called "cherry plum leaf scorch ...


  • UC Riverside gives local economy a lift
    North County Times Oct. 15, 2011

    UC Riverside gives local economy a lift North County Times UC Riverside has long been known for its agricultural expertise, which proved useful for Temeculas Wine Country in the late 1990s when it wa ...


  • UC Riverside gives local economy a lift
    North County Times Oct. 14, 2011

    UC Riverside gives local economy a lift North County Times UC Riverside has long been known for its agricultural expertise, which proved useful for Temeculas Wine Country in the late 1990s when it wa ...


  • Insects may cause flowering plum tree sickness; mites harm tomatoes, squash
    Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Oct. 14, 2011

    Insects may cause flowering plum tree sickness; mites harm tomatoes, squash Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Another - but less likely - possibility is a bacterial disease called "cherry plum leaf scorch ...