An organic winemaker in France has been fined for refusing to spray vineyard with pesticide.
Emmanuel Giboulot was ordered to pay €500 for not complying with official regulations.
He had faced even stiffer punishments, including six months in jail and a fine of €30,000.
A local directive in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or wine-growing region requires treatment to prevent flavescence dorée disease which is spread by an insect. The disease is lethal.
But Giboulot, 51, has received support and scores were at the court in Dijon to await the verdict. Later he said he planned to appeal, noting “I still don't feel guilty. It's intolerable today to be forced to hide and to be frightened for taking a stand."
His stance was that the insecticide damages pollinating insects, including bees, at the same time. He has used “biodynamic” techniques for the last three decades on his 10 hectare vineyard.
Comments
Often reading the label helps; but if you left school at 14, live alone and struggle to read your language - over dosing can be a disaster waiting to happen.
From : http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r302300111.html
Biological Control
Many natural enemies help to provide control of the leafhopper. Egg parasites, including Anagrus epos and other Anagrus spp., are commonly found in vineyards.... Anagrus spp. can parasitize (leafhopper) eggs and survive the winter.... Sulfur sprays applied for fungal control are very toxic to Anagrus spp.
General predators of grape leafhoppers include spiders, green lacewings (Chrysopa spp.), minute pirate bugs (Orius spp.), lady beetles (Hippodamia spp.), and predaceous mites.
From Ed.
Flavescence dorée (from French "Flavescence" : yellowing and "dorée" : golden) is a bacterial disease of the vine with the potential to threaten vineyards. The bacterial agent has recently been named Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis, and its vector is the leafhopper, Scaphoideus titanus. Infection may kill young vines and greatly reduce the productivity of old vines. It is classified as a phytoplasma disease belonging to the group generically termed grapevine yellows. Occurrences are in sporadic epidemics, and varieties vary in their sensitivity to it.
There is no cure for the moment and the way to manage the spreading is the uprooting of the infected plants.
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Ed. (well, Wikipedia really...)