Testing the potential impact of de-budding on reducing foliar symptoms of grapevine trunk diseases

^{Keyword : De-budding, grapevine trunk diseases, viticulture practices, control methods}
 

« BOURGEONS » project, composed of 4 partners Chambre d’Agriculture around the IFV institute, is a small project dedicated to testing the potential impact of de-budding on reducing foliar symptoms of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs).

Based on preliminary results from Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Yonne in Burgundy suggesting positive effects of de-budding on reducing foliar symptoms expression, “Bourgeons” project will set a group of field trials in different French regions and cultivars in order to confirm or not these results. 8 field trials will compare de-budding at optimal period in spring with a non debudded reference. In some trials, an additional non optimal late spring de budding factor will be added.

As this project is built to test a potential practical solution for growers, it does not aim at explaining scientifically why de-budding would be efficient or not. Nevertheless, as de-budding reduces the amount of lignified shoots to be pruned in the following winter, and thus the amount of subsequent wounds, it can be assumed that it may result in less dead wood in the trunk and arms. But a potential effect could also be due to less grapes at harvest, as de-budding also suppresses shoots bearing bunches. In case de-budding would prove to show efficiency, the project will also estimate the drawbacks of the practice, like time consumption and the amount of grape reduction in order to give balanced conclusions.

Partners

Led by Marion Claverie, from IFV, Bou(R)Geons project will be conducted in 5 wine regions (Bordeaux, Provence, Alsace, Val de Loire et Bourgogne-Jura) with Inrae and 3 "chambres d'agriculture)

Calendar

Project begins in septembre 2019 for 3 years.