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A new outbreak of
phylloxera was detected in
Australia
‘s
Yarra
Valley
According to
Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries, “A detection
of the grapevine pest phylloxera has been made in an existing control area in
the
Yarra
Valley,
northeast of
Melbourne.”
The so-called
Maroondah Phylloxera Infested Zone (PIZ) was declared after phylloxera was
detected in the region in December 2006.
The declaration
restricts the movement of grapevine materials, machinery and equipment out of
the PIZ.
Senior DPI plant
standard officer Greg King said that following a recent notification of poor
vigor in a number of vines, “samples were taken from the affected vines and
DPI’s reference entomologist confirmed the presence of the pest.”
The Phylloxera
and Grape Industry Board of South Australia is the only body of its type in the
world established specifically to deal with phylloxera. It publishes
information on recognizing phylloxera, and warns that detections tend to be
made up to several years after the initial occurrence of the infestation.
Grape growers in
other regions, especially those who have had regular contact with the
Yarra
Valley
or with high volumes of wine tourism, have been advised to be particularly
vigilant in looking for signs of the pest.
Phylloxera is a
small, yellow, root-feeding aphid. It targets only grapevines, which it kills
over time by attacking their roots.
