GRAPHIB VALIDACIÓ D’UN MODEL DE GRAUS-DIA PER PREDIR L’APARICIÓ DE LES PRIMERES NIMFES DE PHILAENUS SPUMARIUS A LES ILLES BALEARS

This is a contract (encàrrec de gestió) with the Conselleria d'Agricultura of the Balearic Government that has as goal to develop an informatic tool to predict the time of hatching of eggs laid by the meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius). This insect is the main transmission vector of diseases produced by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. After killing 21 Million olive-trees in the Apulia region of Italy, this bacterium has already devastated around 80% of almond-tree fields in Mallorca, is affecting viticulture (Pierece's disease) and the dangerous Apulian strain has been recently found over olive-trees and wild olive-trees in Mallorca, so it has a huge potential impact. So far, the only proved strategy to limit transmission is to act on the vector, and the best moment to make a treatment appears to be while the vector is in nymph stage, right after eggs hatch. On the other hand, we have proved that the moment of hatching depends on climate. Within this contract field data will obtained about the moment in which eggs hatch, and the temperatures to which these eggs are subject in the field. With this information we will validate the degree-model recently published by our group with date from the Balearic Islands, define the best intervention strategies and check their effectiveness in experimental fields. The final product of the contract will be a tool, usable by farmers, technicians and public in general, to predict the optimal moment in which treatments should be applied. This will be in the form of a web page and a mobile app.
The contract will be done in collaboration of the group in ICA-CSIC lead by Prof. Alberto Fereres.