Phylloxera: What is it?
In the early 1800s, the wine world was growing at a fantastic rate. Wineries were planting record numbers of vines to increase their yields and sales were booming. Then in the 1860s, a tiny root lice insect called Phylloxera wiped out nearly half of the vineyards in Europe.
During that period plants were imported with very little regard whatever to the possibility of introducing pests or diseases. The French discovered that the Phylloxera root louse was devastating their vineyards.
Damage
The Phylloxera is an insect that is so small it is nearly microscopic and not visible to the naked eye. The insect´s presence can be detected when batches of vines start deteriorating. It feeds on the roots and root tips resulting in a reduction of the root system and subsequent decline in the vine´s growth. The process ultimately results in the vine´s death due to this gradual cutting off of the flow of nutrients and water to the vine. However, in the meantime, it does not affect the taste of the wine but the quantity of fruit produced diminishes each year.
Treatment
Winemakers came up with a grafting technique to try to stop the plant lice. What is grafting? Grafting or hybridization is where you take part of one plant, and attach it to part of another plant. In this case, the rootstocks of American vines that are naturally phylloxera resistant are attached to the top half of a European vine. The resulting hybrid vines block the growth of Phylloxera. The grafting of a resistant rootstock remains the preferred prevention technique method used today.
Contributor: Lois Kramer (San Mateo, CA)