Xylella Fastidiosa Diseases and Their Leafhopper Vectors

As its name implies, Xylella fastidiosa is a fastidious (hard to culture), bacterium that resides in the plant xylem tissue. It is vectored (spread) almost exclusively by xylem feeding leafhoppers. Strains of this bacterium are the causal agent of phony peach disease (PPD), plum leaf scald, Pierce's disease (PD) of grapes, citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), and leaf scorch of almond, coffee, elm, oak, oleander pear, and sycamore. Diseases caused...