Aster yellows is a chronic, systemic plant disease caused by a bacterium-like organism called a phytoplasma. The aster yellows phytoplasma (AYP) affects 300 species in 38 families of broad-leaf herbaceous plants, primarily in the aster family, as well as important cereal crops such as wheat and barley. Symptoms are variable and can include phyllody, virescence, chlorosis, stunting, and sterility of flowers. The aster leafhopper vector, Macrosteles quadrilineatus, moves the aster yellows phytoplasma from plant to plant. Its economic burden is primarily felt in the carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus) crop industry, as well as the nursery industry. No cure is known for plants infected with aster yellows. Infected plants should be removed immediately to limit the continued spread of the phytop