Application of Plant Defense Elicitors Fails to Enhance Herbivore Resistance or Mitigate Phytoplasma Infection in Cranberries.

Synthetic elicitors of the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) plant defense pathways can be used to increase crop protection against herbivores and pathogens. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that elicitors of plant defenses interact with pathogen infection to influence crop resistance against vector and nonvector herbivores. To do so, we employed a trophic system comprising of cranberries (), the phytoplasma that causes false blossom disease, and two herbivores-the blunt-nosed leafhopper (), the vector of false blossom disease, and the nonvector gypsy moth ().