Empoasca sp.

Gupta, Ruchie & Pathania, P. C., 2017, Report on Hemipteran pest diversity on apple plantations (Malus domestica Borkh.) in Jammu and Kashmir State of India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (4), pp. 356-356 : 356-

Empoasca sp. (Plate-1, Figure. k)

Taxonomic status: Hemiptera : Cicadellidae

Distribution: Commonluy known as jassids/leafhoppers found in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia ( Ossiannilson, 1981), Western and Eastern United States and Canada ( Delong, 1938) and India (Gupta, 2013)

Present Locality: Recorded from all apple growing districts of Jammu Province

Host plants: They have restrictive host ranges ( Putnam, 1941; Delong, 1965). Backus and Hunter (1989) found that adults on alfalfa fed on vascular tissues, whereas on beans they fed on mesophyll tissues. It has also been recorded to feed on Vine, tomatoes, cotton and apple plants ( Schmidt & Rupp, 1997; Hosny & El-Dessouki, 1969; Gupta, 2013).

Diagnostic features: Small, pale green, wedge-shaped insect, broadest at head, restricted at wing tips; mouthparts suctorial; nymphs smaller; yellow to pale green. Adults possess translucent wings, while the immatures apterous; third pair of legs slender that helps in jumping.

Damage: This pest causes injury to plants. Main concern for apple growers is a type of damage known as “hopper burn” which is caused by the drawal of fluids from vascular tissues and insertion of toxins into the plant. In apples, hoppers are a threat to new delicate, tender foliage of young fruit trees. Injured leaf margins generally curl downward. The pest defoliates leaves by feeding on mesophyll of the cells that leads to stippling of the leaves that ultimately reduce photosynthetic capacity, tree vigour, fruit set and size.