Canada: Potato psyllid found in Alberta but disease not present

The psyllid story sets up like a good news-bad news scenario. The bad news is that the potato psyllid, a tiny insect that can carry zebra chip disease that is harmful to potato production and appearance, has been found in Alberta. The good news is that it isn’t carrying the disease. Dan Johnson, an entomologist and researcher at the University of Lethbridge, is the lead on a national project to monitor for the presence of the potato psyllid. Field surveillance has been underway since 2013. The first potato psyllids were identified at the end of July in small numbers, said Johnson, and subsequent testing showed they are not carrying the pathogen for zebra chip. More