Effects of Acibenzolar-S-methyl on the Probing Behaviour and Mortality of on Pear Plants.

European pear psylla, , is one of the worst pests of pear in Europe. We investigated whether acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) application on pear plants might affect the behaviour in . The elicitor was applied on pear potted plants, and after 48 h, we confirmed the ASM-mediated induction of several Pathogenesis-Related protein () coding genes. At the same time, an in-depth analysis was performed on the probing behaviour of adults and nymphs of on ASM-treated pear plants by the EPG-DC system, as well as the assessment of young nymphs' survival 7 days after the ASM application. The elicitor application weakly interfered with nymphs probing behaviour and survival, while it did not affect adult stages. These data confirm previous observations obtained on and suggest that the elicitor does not represent a viable tool in the control of pear psylla species, especially if used alone, but it might be used in integrated management strategies focused on other plant pathogens such as .