Pierce's Disease of Grapevines: A Review of Control Strategies and an Outline of an Epidemiological Model.

is a notorious plant pathogenic bacterium that represents a threat to crops worldwide. Its subspecies, subsp. is the causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines. Pierce's disease has presented a serious challenge for the grapevine industry in the United States and turned into an epidemic in Southern California due to the invasion of the insect vector . In an attempt to minimize the effects of subsp. in vineyards, various studies have been developing and testing strategies to prevent the occurrence of Pierce's disease, i.e., prophylactic strategies. Research has also been undertaken to investigate therapeutic strategies to cure vines infected by subsp. . This report explicitly reviews all the strategies published to date and specifies their current status. Furthermore, an epidemiological model of subsp. is proposed and key parameters for the spread of Pierce's disease deciphered in a sensitivity analysis of all model parameters. Based on these results, it is concluded that future studies should prioritize therapeutic strategies, while investments should only be made in prophylactic strategies that have demonstrated promising results in vineyards.