Publications by authors named "Matthew Blua"

Article Synopsis
  • Potatoes play a crucial role in the agricultural economy of the Pacific Northwest, but workers face risks of illness and injury.
  • A Hazard Perception Survey conducted with 63 potato growers revealed that 70.9% are very concerned about farm injuries, particularly from tasks involving bending, twisting, and lifting.
  • In light of these concerns, educational materials were created to help growers identify and reduce safety hazards, with future research needed to assess their effectiveness in lowering injury rates.
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Successful infection of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Wells) from an infected plant to a new host involves three main steps: 1) acquisition of the bacterium by a vector; 2) inoculation of a noninfected host plant by the vector; and 3) establishment of sufficient titers of X. fastidiosa in the host plant to sustain a chronic infection. Understanding the basic biology of the transmission process is a key to limiting the spread of plant diseases induced by X.

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Homalodisca coagulata Say (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is a major agronomic pest because it transmits Xylella fastidiosa (Wells), the bacterium that causes Pierce's disease of grapevine. The ability to easily detect X. fastidiosa in populations of H.

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The recent spread of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylclla fastidiosa Wells et al. by an invasive vector species, Homalodisca coagulata Say, in southern California has resulted in new epidemics of Pierce's disease of grapevine. Our goal is to develop an efficient method to detect low titers of X.

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Xylophagous leafhopppers are common and abundant insects of tropical and subtropical environments and play important ecological roles in these ecosystems. The feeding biology of these insects is unique in terms of their high feeding rates and a digestive physiology that allows them to assimilate amino acids, organic acids, and sugars at approximately 99% efficiency. For those species well studied, fluctuations in plant xylem chemistry and tension appear to determine the diurnal and seasonal use of their host plants.

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