Long-term performance of disease-resistant grapevine varieties: insights from an 8-year field monitoring across French vineyards
Abstract
Breeding disease-resistant varieties (DRV) is a central strategy for reducing reliance on phytosanitary products. However, the successful deployment and long-term durability of these cultivars rely on acquiring field data across diverse production conditions, a step that remains frequently neglected, especially in perennial crops. Since 2018, the OSCAR observatory, a network of vineyard plots planted in France with varieties resistant to downy and powdery mildew, the two major pathogens of grapevine, has aimed to close this gap for viticulture. The observatory comprises over 199 commercial plots, covering 127 hectares across diverse agroclimatic conditions, all managed by winegrowers under their own production practices. The observatory currently monitors 31 disease-resistant grapevine varieties, tracking both their agronomic performance and the dynamics of key pathogens. Since 2018, while phytosanitary treatments have been reduced by an average of 79% compared to conventional plots, the incidence of downy and powdery mildew, remain low, even in years highly conducive to these diseases. However, the long-term survey also highlights the decline in efficacy of some resistances to downy mildew and the emergence of black rot, a disease effectively controlled by conventional phytosanitary programs. Beyond acting as a rapid warning system for resistance breakdown, the observatory promotes sustainable disease management in viticulture. It provides valuable insights to winegrowers on effective DRV management. It also delivers actionable feedback to breeders to guide more durable DRV breeding strategies.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{pelissier2026longterm,
title = {{Long-term performance of disease-resistant grapevine varieties: insights from an 8-year field monitoring across French vineyards}},
author = {Rémi Pelissier and Laura Marolleau and Isabelle Mazet and François Delmotte and Laurent Delière and Anne-Sophie Miclot and Frédéric Fabre},
journal = {Scientia Horticulturae},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.scienta.2026.115188},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05797595v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Long-term performance of disease-resistant grapevine varieties: insights from an 8-year field monitoring across French vineyards
AU - Rémi Pelissier
AU - Laura Marolleau
AU - Isabelle Mazet
AU - François Delmotte
AU - Laurent Delière
AU - Anne-Sophie Miclot
AU - Frédéric Fabre
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Scientia Horticulturae
DO - 10.1016/j.scienta.2026.115188
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05797595v1
AB - Breeding disease-resistant varieties (DRV) is a central strategy for reducing reliance on phytosanitary products. However, the successful deployment and long-term durability of these cultivars rely on acquiring field data across diverse production conditions, a step that remains frequently neglected, especially in perennial crops. Since 2018, the OSCAR observatory, a network of vineyard plots planted in France with varieties resistant to downy and powdery mildew, the two major pathogens of grapevine, has aimed to close this gap for viticulture. The observatory comprises over 199 commercial plots, covering 127 hectares across diverse agroclimatic conditions, all managed by winegrowers under their own production practices. The observatory currently monitors 31 disease-resistant grapevine varieties, tracking both their agronomic performance and the dynamics of key pathogens. Since 2018, while phytosanitary treatments have been reduced by an average of 79% compared to conventional plots, the incidence of downy and powdery mildew, remain low, even in years highly conducive to these diseases. However, the long-term survey also highlights the decline in efficacy of some resistances to downy mildew and the emergence of black rot, a disease effectively controlled by conventional phytosanitary programs. Beyond acting as a rapid warning system for resistance breakdown, the observatory promotes sustainable disease management in viticulture. It provides valuable insights to winegrowers on effective DRV management. It also delivers actionable feedback to breeders to guide more durable DRV breeding strategies.
SN - 0304-4238
SN - 0304-4238
ER -