Also known by the fancy latin name Empoasca lybica or Empoasca vitis, this is a small green insect from the grasshopper family that some years causes stress to us in the vineyards during the final part of the harvest.
The insect sucks the sap from the leaves of the vines and leaves a bit of saliva that infects the plant just like a normal mosquito irritates our skin! It's saliva attacks the plants nervous system so the leaves turn red, dry out and curl. In worst case the plant stops generating energy and ripening its grapes.
We are trying to trick these small ones to not attack our plants by spraying the leaves with zeolite that makes the leaves look dusty and thus not nice and fresh for them to suck sap from!
The varieties they seem to like the most are; Merlot, Chardonnay, Giró Ros and Pinot Noir.
The green leafhopper itself:
An affected leaf:
