Online Wine Tour

Vine mealybug (VMB) is a potent vector for leaf roll virus which is known to be a recent import into the wine country. While spraying has been potently ruled out, dogs are being seen as the perfect measure to be deployed against the vine mealybug. Dr. Bonnie Bergin the Director of Assistance Dog Institute has been training golden retrievers to help in the process. “We’ve been working on this program for two years, and after several well-marked tests, we’re close to 100 percent of accuracy,” she said.

The director of Winegrowing at Domain Chandon, Rick Aldine put two trained dogs to test in the Chandon’s Carneros Ranch where many blocks were identified as infected by the VMB. “The dogs aggressively locked onto vines with previously treated infestations as well as vines with new, unidentified infestations. Most of the vines did not have significant crawlers visible yet. The dogs, however, actually ID’d a couple of underground infestations,” he said. “This success is huge.”

Aldine added, “Once pheromone trapping ID’s a suspected VMB hotspot, a trained dog can do the work of 20 laborers in locating the source vines for the infestation. Chandon estimates the cost of VMB control and eradication at $750-1000 per acre. In rough terms, that’s a 25 percent add-on to farming costs. Those vintner and grower entities committed to profit cannot tolerate a cost hit like that. Additionally, the labor supply continues to tighten — having an army of laborers available to systematically walk suspect infestations prior to harvest is not something to bank on.”

The project at ADI was started by Bergin on the request of 30 Napa growers mostly from the infected Carneros region. These growers have so far funded the project that was identified and brought to light by the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association. The infection is assumed to spread across all areas and the only safeguard is to get it cleared with the help of trained dogs as soon as possible.

Filed under: Napa Valley