Phylloxera
Phylloxera | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
Family: | Phylloxeridae |
Genus: | Daktulosphaira Shimer, 1866[1] |
Species: | D. vitifoliae
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Binomial name | |
Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch, 1855)
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Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of
These almost microscopic, pale yellow sap-sucking insects, related to aphids, feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines (depending on the phylloxera genetic strain). On Vitis vinifera, the resulting deformations on roots ("nodosities" and "tuberosities") and secondary fungal infections can girdle roots, gradually cutting off the flow of nutrients and water to the vine.[2] Nymphs also form protective galls on the undersides of grapevine leaves of some Vitis species and overwinter under the bark or on the vine roots; these leaf galls are typically only found on the leaves of American vines.
American vine species (such as Vitis labrusca) have evolved[3] to have several natural defenses against phylloxera. The roots of the American vines exude a sticky sap that repels the nymph form by clogging its mouth when it tries to feed from the vine. If the nymph is successful in creating a feeding wound on the root, American vines respond by forming a protective layer of tissue to cover the wound and protect it from secondary bacterial or fungal infections.[2]
Currently there is no cure for phylloxera and unlike other
Biology
Phylloxera has a complex life-cycle of up to 18 stages, that can be divided into four principal forms: sexual form, leaf form, root form, and winged form.
The sexual form begins with male and female eggs laid on the underside of young grape leaves. The male and female at this stage lack a digestive system, and once hatched, they mate and then die. Before the female dies, she lays one winter egg in the bark of the vine's trunk. This egg develops into the leaf form. This nymph, the fundatrix (stem mother), climbs onto a leaf and lays eggs
Many attempts have been made to interrupt this life cycle to eradicate phylloxera, but it has proven to be extremely adaptable, as no one stage of the life cycle is solely dependent upon another for the propagation of the species.
Fighting the "phylloxera plague"
In the late 19th century the phylloxera epidemic destroyed most of the vineyards for
In France, one of the desperate measures of grape growers was to bury a live toad under each vine to draw out the "poison".[6] Areas with soils composed principally of sand or schist were spared, and the spread was slowed in dry climates, but gradually phylloxera spread across the continent. A significant amount of research was devoted to finding a solution to the phylloxera problem, and two major solutions gradually emerged: grafting cuttings onto resistant rootstocks and hybridization.
Response
By the end of the 19th century, hybridization became a popular avenue of research for stopping phylloxera. Hybridization is the breeding of
Grafting with resistant rootstock
Use of a resistant, or tolerant, rootstock, developed by
Not all rootstocks are equally resistant. Between the 1960s and the 1980s in
Many have suggested that this failure was predictable, as one parent of AxR1 is in fact a susceptible V. vinifera cultivar. But the transmission of phylloxera tolerance is more complex, as is demonstrated by the continued success of 41B, an F1 hybrid of Vitis berlandieri and Vitis vinifera. Modern phylloxera infestation also occurs when wineries are in need of fruit immediately, and choose to plant ungrafted vines rather than wait for grafted vines to be available.
The use of resistant American rootstock to guard against phylloxera also brought about a debate that remains unsettled to this day: whether self-rooted vines produce better wine than those that are grafted. Of course, the argument is essentially irrelevant wherever phylloxera exists. Had American rootstock not been available and used, there would be no V. vinifera wine industry in Europe or most places other than Chile, Washington State, and most of Australia. Cyprus was spared by the phylloxera plague, and thus its wine stock has not been grafted for phylloxera resistant purposes.
Aftermath
The only European grapes that are natively resistant to phylloxera are the Assyrtiko grape which grows on the volcanic island of Santorini, Greece, although it is not clear whether the resistance is due to the rootstock itself or the volcanic ash on which it grows; and the Juan Garcia grape variety, autochthonous to the medieval village of Fermoselle in Spain. The Juan Garcia variety remained—untouched by phylloxera—sheltered on the vineyards planted on the man-made land terraces along the mountainous skirts on the gigantic and steep Duero Arribes / Douro River Canyon, where the microclimatic conditions discourage the growth of phylloxera.
To escape the threat of phylloxera, wines have been produced since 1979 on the sandy beaches of Provence's
Some regions were so blighted by phylloxera that they never recovered, and instead the producers switched crops entirely. The island of Mallorca is one example, where almonds now substitute for vines.[citation needed]
Vines that survived phylloxera
According to wine critic and author Kerin O'Keefe, thanks to tiny parcels of vineyards throughout Europe which were inexplicably unscathed, some vineyards still exist as they were before the phylloxera devastation.[9]
So far, most
Until 2005, three tiny parcels of ungrafted Pinot noir that escaped phylloxera were used to produce Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, one of the rarest and most expensive Champagnes available.[9] In 2004, one of the parcels, Croix Rouge in Bouzy, died from phylloxera and was replanted with grafted rootstock.[15]
A rare vintage port is made from ungrafted vines grown on a small parcel, called Nacional, in the heart of the Quinta do Noval. It is unknown why this plot survived.[9]
Another vineyard unaffected by the phylloxera is the Lisini estate in Montalcino in Italy, a half-hectare vineyard of Sangiovese with vines dating back to the mid-1800s. Since 1985, the winery has produced a few bottles of Prefillossero (Italian for "before the phylloxera"). The wine has a following, including Italian wine critic Luigi Veronelli who inscribed on a bottle of the 1987 at the winery that drinking Prefillossero was like listening to 'the earth singing to the sky'.[9]
Large swaths of vineyards on the slopes of Sicily's volcano
Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley AVA of Santa Barbara, CA is a phylloxera-free vineyard. Despite being planted on its own roots, with UC Davis virus-free clones, the vineyard has never been affected by phylloxera. The high percentage of sand in the soil creates a mostly uninhabitable substrate for phylloxera. While Bien Nacido has not been affected, there is a potential, as all of the vines are true Vitis vinifera without scions or grafting. Many of the old vines were planted in 1973 and fall within the blocks G, N, Q and W. The wines of Bien Nacido Estate have a high percentage of these ungrafted and phylloxera-free vines within the cuvée.
Colares vineyards, native to the Portuguese region of Sintra are grown on 3–4 metres of sand, and are therefore unaffected by phylloxera.
References
- ^ Shimer. 1866. The Prairie Farmer 18:36
- ^ ISBN 9781905819157
- PMID 21764593.
- ^ McLeod, Murdick J.; Williams, Roger N. "Grape Phylloxera". Archived from the original on 2012-07-16.
- S2CID 199360879.
- ^ a b winepros.com.au The Oxford Companion to Wine. "phylloxera". Archived from the original on 2008-07-27.
- ^ "Wines of the Sand". Feature Article. Novus Vinum. 2006-09-17. Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ^ G. Gale. "Saving the vine from phylloxera: a never-ending battle" (PDF). University of Missouri-Kansas City. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- ^ a b c d O'Keefe, Kerin (October 2005). "The great escape". Decanter. Archived from the original on 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- ^ "Phylloxera". Vinehealth Australia. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (2021-12-08). "Tackling phylloxera - Agriculture". Agriculture Victoria. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Phylloxera". www.dpi.nsw.gov.au. 2018. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Pigott, Stuart (29 January 1997). "The Mosel River Renaissance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Salcito, Jordan (26 April 2014). "Germany's Wine Revolution Is Just Getting Started". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ "Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises 1969–2005". The World of Fine Wine. 13 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
- ^ Campbell, Christy. "Phylloxera: How Wine Was Saved For the World." Harper Perennial, 2004, p. 129–130
Further reading
- Boubals, Denis, "Sur les attaques de Phylloxera des racines dans le monde", Progres Agricole et Viticole, Montpellier, 110:416-421, 1993.
- Campbell, Christy, "The Botanist and the Vintner: How Wine Was Saved for the World", Algonquin Books, 2005.
- Ordish, George, "The Great Wine Blight", Pan Macmillan, 1987.
- Powell, Kevin, "Grape phylloxera: An Overview". In Root feeders An Ecosystem perspective (Eds S.N. Johnson & P.J. Murray) CAB International 2008.
- Benheim, Devin et al., "Grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) – a review of potential detection and alternative management options", Annals of Applied Biology, Volume 161, Issue 2, pages 91–115, September 2012
External links
- Data related to Daktulosphaira at Wikispecies
- ISSN 0161-7370 – via Wikisource.
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- Web page of the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia
- The Vine's Enemy: A profile of phylloxera drawn from the 2nd edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine