Evaluation of Efficacy of Different Insecticides Against Philaenus spumarius L., Vector of Xylella fastidiosa in Olive Orchards in Southern Italy, 2015–17

Philaenus spumarius L. has been identified as the main vector of Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium causing a disease denoted as Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS) in Southern Italy. From late 2017 to early 2018, only two commercial formulations of acetamiprid and delthametrin were officially registered in Italy. Hence, an urgent need exists to evaluate field efficacy of chemicals with different active ingredients, formulations, and modes of action to control the meadow spittlebug. From 2015 to 2017, six different field trials (A, B, C, D, E, and F) were conducted using a randomized block with six replicates per treatment including the untreated check and neonicotinoids as reference products with known efficacy against other Auchenorrhyncha. The efficacy and persistence of each application was determined by scoring spittlebug mortality at 3, 7, 10, and 15 DAT for the trials conducted in 2015, and up to 20 and 25 DAT in trials conducted in 2016 and 2017.