The phylloxera

The phylloxera one of the aphids (Latin Dactylosphaera vitifolii) and is the most dangerous of all vine pests. Therefore, the pest is also known as Phylloxera vastatrix (devastating or destructive louse) refers.

• This pest lives temporarily in the ground and sucks on the vine roots
• The first leads to weak growth, then the death of the vines
• American vines are resistant to the phylloxera infestation, so since the phylloxera disaster in Europe, all vines grafted on roots of American vines.

The phylloxera disaster

Until the mid-19th Century remained the winery in Europe the previous proven traditions in wine-growing faithful. Was built on the well-known European varieties and focused on a conscientious care, that will yield good wine.

Suddenly accumulated horrors, first mainly from Provence in 1858 in France, which had first been whole vineyards and ultimately over 1 ½ million acres of vines in the entire country is based. The disease soon spread to all major wine growing countries in Europe. The director of Austrian wine Klosterneuburger school received 1867 American vines infected and given to the vines in his country. In 1874 Germany made ​​it the first time in the near Bonn in the garden Annaberg, 1902 in Würzburg, 1907 and 1913 on the Mosel, Baden. Beginning of the 20th Century, already destroyed 75% of all vineyards in Europe. Even the “New World” was hit hard. Imported from France, infected vines also provided in the burgeoning California wine for a fiasco. Even Australia and New Zealand were not spared. Only Chile has remained untouched by phylloxera disease.

The cause of this plague was a small insect of the family of dwarf lice. It soon became “phylloxera”, and fought by all means.

With chemical agents was not much can. If the infestation was visible, it was already too late for the vine. The biology of phylloxera had to be examined more closely in order to take appropriate measures can.

From a phylloxera egg that has overwintered under the bark of a vine, a female hatched in the spring of phylloxera. Immediately begins to pierce the vine leaves. These react with the formation of bile, which stores the louse in unfertilized eggs. From these eggs hatch female in turn phylloxera, which feed on the sap of the vine. A portion of these lice migrate to lay their eggs in the root zone.

In the fall of the educated female root-knot grow again, but the wings are in contrast to the other generations. They swarm out and lay their eggs. The circle is closed in the spring with the hatching of the young lice.

The phylloxera was in America long ago. She survived but the long transport on sailing ships before. When American vines in 1850 to England and France were introduced with fast steamships, it spread from the phylloxera.

In the American vines, it was observed that these were attacked in the root zone, it received not. It was also observed that European vines did not form the typical leaf galls and thus no phylloxera eggs could be stored in it.
The French government Schuff 1870, a commission to combat phylloxera. Their most prominent Chairman Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was. The Commission reviewed over 700 proposals and were largely unsuccessful.

Gaston Bazille, the grower, the botanist JE Planchon and horticultural F. Sahut detected in the biological behavior of the phylloxera the key to solving the problem. Bazille began to graft the tops (scions) of the European varieties resistant to American documents (rhizomes). The cycle of phylloxera was successfully disrupted.

This refinement was also the first biological pest control in the history of winegrowing. A French delegation later discovered in America with the help of the botanist Thomas Volney Munson (1843-1913), the appropriate rootstocks.

Nowadays you can vinifera varieties grown exclusively on American roots. It has therefore become meaningless, whether to stay in a vineyard lice or not.