First report of potato stolbur phytoplasma in hemipterans in Southern Moravia

Abstract

In 2005, the first screening tests to confirm the presence of potato stolbur phytoplasma in hemipterans by the PCR method were carried out to determine the spectrum of possible vector species for further analyses. Potato stolbur phytoplasma was confirmed in two out of five tested individuals of Hyalesthes obsoletus and in one mixed sample (10 individuals) from 17 tested samples of Lygus spp. As far as we know this is the first occurrence of potato stolbur phytoplasma in Hyalesthes obsoletus and Lygus spp. confirmed by the PCR method in the Czech Republic.