The Contribution of Imperfections in Nursery Stock to the Decline of Young Vines in California

Abstract

‘Petri disease’, as defined at the 2nd International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases (Esca and Grapevine Declines, September 14–15 2001, Lisbon, Portugal), is a condition associated worldwide with the decline of young vines contaminated by Phaeoacremonium and/or Phaeomoniella pathogens. Vines exhibit stunted development with vascular tissues characteristically exuding darkened gums when sectioned transversally. ‘Young Vine Decline’ (YVD), historically including the condition now known as Petri disease, is a term still used widely in California to describe unexpectedly poor performance of young vines exhibiting symptoms that include those associated with Petri disease. Examination of more than eight hundred thousand dormant nursery vines as well as new and established declining vineyards demonstrated that nursery stock defects and mechanical and biotic vineyard stresses were frequently associated with YVD in California. Rootstock shaft lesions and weak roots were most commonly associated with YVD in very young vineyards, while root system contamination by nematodes and fungal pathogens was frequently associated with YVD in older vineyards.