Pierce's Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

I’ve seen a lot of recent articles about Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter running roughshod in California and I’m looking for more information on these scourges. I’m particularly concerned about the spread of Pierce’s Disease to humans as I’m almost 100% positive I was in a vineyard infected by it 2 weeks ago. Ever since then I’ve been feeling a bit off and have a persistent itch on the back of my left hand and I’m convinced this is chlorosis.

A recent addition to the ways to deal with Pierce’s can be found here: https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/092918-00001-20190425.pdf

Uses bacteriophage injected into the vines to prevent/reduce Xylella

I am straining as hard as possible not to describe what really causes this, but my Catholic friends who have gone to confession have explained that . . .

Look for signs of hair growing on the palm!

Or so I’ve heard.

Years ago i read that Pierce’s disease is one reason the wine industry never took off in Arizona and it destroyed vineyards in LA in the late 1800s. But I don’t think it has any effect on humans. It feeds on vegetation.

Feeling a little off after having visited a vineyard would seem entirely unrelated to Pierce’s disease, although it may be related to any number of other things. And may also just be correlation, without any causation whatsoever.

Pierce’s Disease is caused by a bacterium that is introduced into the plant by an insect. The disease affects the internal tissues of grapevines (and a few other plants, including olives and almonds). Neither the bacterium or the vectoring insect has any effect on humans.

Apparently our friend Bobby has consumed enough wine that he is now at least partially grapevine (or olive or almond). That or he is (again) gently trolling us.

Bobby aka Groot?

And I fell for it . . .

You presumably have better things to do that haunt the board and learn the predilections of the posters. Please don’t stop sharing your expertise!

I can’t tell whether this entire thread is tongue-in-cheek, but oenophiles laughing at Xylella fastidiosa is akin to Major League Baseball players laughing at Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 14th Century European peasants laughing at Yersinia pestis.

[u]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris[/u]
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