Candy discovery for the wine trade — Science Information, June 29, 1974
Pierce’s illness stays an issue for California grape growers.… [Pathologists] have known the reason for the illness. They had been in a position to isolate a small, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium which is almost certainly a brand new species and subsequently as but unnamed.
Replace
Pierce’s illness nonetheless vexes California vineyards and is estimated to price the state greater than $100 million according to yr. However researchers now know extra in regards to the offender: Xylella fastidiosa.
The bacterium spreads amongst grapevines by way of bugs, in particular sharpshooter leafhoppers and spittlebugs. When the bugs suck sap from an inflamed plant, they pick out up the microbe, which harmlessly multiplies of their mouths. Leafhoppers and spittlebugs then transmit the pathogen to vines after they latch onto a wholesome plant. The following an infection prevents water and vitamins from flowing into the plant, sooner or later killing it.
There’s nonetheless no remedy for Pierce’s illness. Possibly someday it’s going to be conceivable to genetically engineer domesticated grapevines to be immune to the micro organism.