An insect-transported bacteria killing grape vines and other
plants in Southern California is active in Santa Clara County, but
officials now believe the disease is under control.
An insect-transported bacteria killing grape vines and other plants in Southern California is active in Santa Clara County, but officials now believe the disease is under control.
Using a combination of chemical sprays, traps, natural enemies and beefed-up inspections, agriculture officials say Pierce’s disease and the glassy-winged sharpshooter – the dime-sized flying insect which carries the disease – are spreading less rapidly than in the late 90s when they began migrating north from Southern California.
“It looks like we’re gaining a lot of ground,” said Greg Van Wassenhove, Santa Clara County’s agricultural commissioner. “At every level there have been a lot of resources put into studying (Pierce’s disease) the last few years.”
After Pierce’s disease began causing the destruction of thousands of acres of grape vines in Southern California in the late ’90s, federal, state and county officials soon discovered it was the glassy-winged sharpshooter who transports the disease.
In 1999, $55 million was spent to battle the disease which interferes with plants’ ability to absorb moisture and nutrients. And although the disease has traveled with sharpshooters as far north as Solano County next to Napa County, the three cases in the San Jose area have been contained to areas of less than a few miles, Van Wassenhove said.
“Pierce’s disease is all around us, but it needs a way to travel,” said Dave Vanni, owner of Solis Winery. “I think they’ve done a good job of containing this, but we’ll keep checking our traps. I have a good friend in Temecula who had a large portion of his vineyard taken out by Pierce’s, so I know what can happen.”
