Mapping the abundance and distribution of <i>Bactericera cockerelli</i> in Hawkes Bay

Abstract

Since its discovery in New Zealand in 2006 the tomato/potato psyllid (TPP) Bactericera cockerelli and its associated pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum have caused serious yield losses and significantly increased management costs to cultivated solanaceous crops Hawkes Bay New Zealand is a major growing region for outdoor tomato crops and is also an area that experiences high TPP numbers This project aims to map TPP distributions in Hawkes Bay using geographical information systems (GIS) a tool useful for displaying where significant pest populations have occurred Between the years 2008 and 2012 TPP was monitored using standard yellow sticky traps and plant monitoring by a major processing company in commercial tomato crops in Hawkes Bay TPP abundance and distribution data were imported into a GIS software package and will then be linked to corresponding mapped sites throughout Hastings Havelock North and Napier (Hawkes Bay) This information may assist tomato and potato growers in the region with crop location decisions and where best to focus management efforts