FLEA BEETLE AND THE INCIDENCE OF STEWART'S WILT IN NEWYORK SWEET CORN

摘要

Stewart's bacterial wilt is an important disease of sweet corn in the northeastern United States. In 1999, losses in processing sweet corn yield attributed to Stewart's wilt were estimated at approximately $1 million in the state of New York alone. The disease is caused by the bacterial pathogen, Erwinia stewartii, (Smith) Dye, and is vectored almost exclusively by the corn flea beetle (CFB), Chaetocnema pulicaria Melsheimer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). The bacteria overwinter in the gut of adult C.pulicaria. In the spring, beetles infest early plantings of corn and transmit the pathogen to the plant by feeding and defecating on leaves. In 2000, we initiated a multi-yr study of the ecology of and management of CFB and Stewart's wilt in New York.