As if the wine industry didn’t have enough issues—declining consumption and climate change to start—now an invasive insect that can spread deadly diseases to grapevines and other plants has arrived.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter just hitched a ride from a Fresno nursery to Costco stores across Northern California, including those in Sonoma and Marin counties. That could spell trouble for the region, considering the non-native leafhopper established itself in Southern and Central California in the 1990s, damaging thousands of acres of plants ever since.
Local agriculture officials need the public’s help to stop the destructive pest from taking up residence here, where it doesn’t belong. Time is of the essence, because it poses a threat to wine country’s vineyards, as well as citrus trees and ornamental plants in the entire region…