Protection methods

- During cultivation

As in the case of virus diseases, there is no control method making it possible to control phytoplasmas during cultivation. An infected plant will remain so throughout its life.

It is suggested in the literature to plow salad crops immediately after harvest to eliminate inoculum sources and leafhoppers mating areas. Weeds that may harbor sensitive species serving as reservoir plants will also be removed from the periphery of the plots.


- Next crop

In countries where attacks occur in the nursery, it will be necessary to protect the plants . The best solution is to use agrotextiles (non-woven sails, mesh fabrics) which will constitute a more effective mechanical barrier than insecticide treatments. The efficiency of the latter is quite controversial. While a number of insecticides are very effective against leafhoppers, they will not always prevent contamination. In contrast, the insecticide treatments applied to other insects will sometimes be sufficient to limit the populations of leafhoppers. It has been found that the placement of aluminized mulch can reduce the number of vectors and the incidence of the disease.

A weeding careful nurseries, plots and their surroundings (edges of hedges and paths ...) will be carried out to eliminate the weeds mentioned above. Healthy plants should be used and salad crops should not be planted near other already affected crops.

There is currently no lettuce variety resistant to the aster yellows phytoplasma. Some differences in behavior between cultivars are reported in the United States, as well as tolerance in the Trianon Cos genotype.


NB: As legislation on pesticides evolves very quickly, we advise you to consult the e-phy site of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries which is an online catalog of plant protection products and their uses, fertilizers and culture media approved in France . This also applies to all biological products based on microorganisms or natural substances.