The role of Lycium plant between the vector insect Bactericera cockerelli and the host potato plant

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) area of Texas is an important growing region for Solanum tuberosum. Potato cultivation begins in November and lasts until April-May, unlike other regions where the potato growing season is from April to September. Potato crops in the RGV are consistently challenged by infestations of Bactericera cockerelli, the vector of the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum that causes zebra chip disease, leading to losses in tuber quality. Management of B. cockerelli is challenging in part because we do not yet know the non-crop sources of psyllids that colonize potato fields. In this study, we monitored B. cockerelli populations in potato fields and in two wild host plants. Immature and adult psyllids of B. cockerelli were predominantly found in S. tuberosum followed by L. carolinianum. Under greenhouse conditions, we corroborated that the central haplotype of B. cockerelli developed on these two endemic Lycium species as well as on a non-native species of Lycium (L. barbarum).