Co-designing deployment strategies for disease-resistant cultivars: Insights from a participatory landscape-scale modeling study with a wine cooperative
- 1INRAE, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, SAVE, Villenave d’Ornon, France
- 2INRAE, BioSP, Avignon, France
- 3INRAE, Pathologie Végétale, Montfavet, France
Abstract
We developed, assessed and compared strategies for deploying grapevine cultivars resistant to downy mildew in partnership with a wine cooperative in France. In four action-research workshops, cooperative managers and multidisciplinary researchers jointly designed six feasible deployment strategies. These scenarios, implemented within the real cooperative landscape, involve planting resistant cultivars (RC) (i) on plots more than 30 years old, (ii) on 3.3% of the older plots every year or (iii) in no-treatment zones (due to proximity to watercourses or human dwellings), with and without a maximum percentage of RC in the vineyard. The strategies were evaluated with the landsepi model, which simulates pathogen spread and evolution in agricultural landscapes. The assessment criteria included disease control efficacy, resistance durability, decrease in fungicide use, and economic benefits for individual vineyards and the cooperative. Following these assessments, the cooperative prioritized planting RC in no-treatment zones as the most suitable strategy, considering broader practical constraints they face. These scenarios led us to study more specifically the effects of two little-studied factors: (i) whether or not fungicides are applied and (ii) the rapid or gradual deployment of RC. Fungicide application substantially decreases the risk of resistance breakdown and complements the epidemiological control provided by RC, particularly when the fitness costs of virulence are low. The probability of pathogens adapted to RC becoming established was generally lower with gradual than rapid RC deployment; however, when establishment did occur, the time to establishment was shorter for gradual strategies at a mean cropping ratio ≥50%. Ultimately, these choices have a marginal overall impact on disease control due to compensatory epidemiological and evolutionary processes, including dilution effects, and the probability and timing of resistance breakdown. Our study highlights the potential of participatory approaches for developing practical, scientifically grounded strategies for sustainable agriculture. Author summary: Reducing pesticide use is a major challenge for sustainable viticulture. Planting mildew-resistant grapevine cultivars (RC) is a promising solution, but pathogens can rapidly adapt and overcome plant resistance. To address this, we partnered with a French wine cooperative to co-design and evaluate practical RC deployment strategies using computer simulations, assessing disease control, resistance durability, fungicide reduction, and economic benefits. Through workshops, stakeholders prioritized planting RC in “no-treatment zones” (areas near water or human dwellings where pesticides are restricted) as the most suitable decision. Discussions with stakeholders led us to test the long-term impacts of applying fungicides and deploying RC either gradually or rapidly. Model simulations revealed that combining RC with fungicide applications significantly reduces the risk of resistance breakdown. Furthermore, we found that gradually introducing RC across the landscape lowers the overall probability of pathogen adaptation, but drastically accelerates the breakdown process when it does occur. However, whether RC are introduced rapidly or gradually, final disease control remains similar due to epidemiological and evolutionary trade-offs. This study demonstrates that combining stakeholder expertise with computer modeling provides a powerful blueprint for transitioning to sustainable farming.
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BibTeX
@article{zaffaroni2026codesigning,
title = {{Co-designing deployment strategies for disease-resistant cultivars: Insights from a participatory landscape-scale modeling study with a wine cooperative}},
author = {Marta Zaffaroni and Adeline Alonso Ugaglia and Anne-Sophie Miclot and Loup Rimbaud and Julien Papaïx and Jean-François Rey and Frédéric Fabre},
journal = {PLOS Sustainability and Transformation},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pstr.0000286},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/sustainabilitytransformation/article?id=10.1371/journal.pstr.0000286},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Co-designing deployment strategies for disease-resistant cultivars: Insights from a participatory landscape-scale modeling study with a wine cooperative
AU - Marta Zaffaroni
AU - Adeline Alonso Ugaglia
AU - Anne-Sophie Miclot
AU - Loup Rimbaud
AU - Julien Papaïx
AU - Jean-François Rey
AU - Frédéric Fabre
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - PLOS Sustainability and Transformation
DO - 10.1371/journal.pstr.0000286
UR - https://journals.plos.org/sustainabilitytransformation/article?id=10.1371/journal.pstr.0000286
AB - We developed, assessed and compared strategies for deploying grapevine cultivars resistant to downy mildew in partnership with a wine cooperative in France. In four action-research workshops, cooperative managers and multidisciplinary researchers jointly designed six feasible deployment strategies. These scenarios, implemented within the real cooperative landscape, involve planting resistant cultivars (RC) (i) on plots more than 30 years old, (ii) on 3.3% of the older plots every year or (iii) in no-treatment zones (due to proximity to watercourses or human dwellings), with and without a maximum percentage of RC in the vineyard. The strategies were evaluated with the landsepi model, which simulates pathogen spread and evolution in agricultural landscapes. The assessment criteria included disease control efficacy, resistance durability, decrease in fungicide use, and economic benefits for individual vineyards and the cooperative. Following these assessments, the cooperative prioritized planting RC in no-treatment zones as the most suitable strategy, considering broader practical constraints they face. These scenarios led us to study more specifically the effects of two little-studied factors: (i) whether or not fungicides are applied and (ii) the rapid or gradual deployment of RC. Fungicide application substantially decreases the risk of resistance breakdown and complements the epidemiological control provided by RC, particularly when the fitness costs of virulence are low. The probability of pathogens adapted to RC becoming established was generally lower with gradual than rapid RC deployment; however, when establishment did occur, the time to establishment was shorter for gradual strategies at a mean cropping ratio ≥50%. Ultimately, these choices have a marginal overall impact on disease control due to compensatory epidemiological and evolutionary processes, including dilution effects, and the probability and timing of resistance breakdown. Our study highlights the potential of participatory approaches for developing practical, scientifically grounded strategies for sustainable agriculture. Author summary: Reducing pesticide use is a major challenge for sustainable viticulture. Planting mildew-resistant grapevine cultivars (RC) is a promising solution, but pathogens can rapidly adapt and overcome plant resistance. To address this, we partnered with a French wine cooperative to co-design and evaluate practical RC deployment strategies using computer simulations, assessing disease control, resistance durability, fungicide reduction, and economic benefits. Through workshops, stakeholders prioritized planting RC in “no-treatment zones” (areas near water or human dwellings where pesticides are restricted) as the most suitable decision. Discussions with stakeholders led us to test the long-term impacts of applying fungicides and deploying RC either gradually or rapidly. Model simulations revealed that combining RC with fungicide applications significantly reduces the risk of resistance breakdown. Furthermore, we found that gradually introducing RC across the landscape lowers the overall probability of pathogen adaptation, but drastically accelerates the breakdown process when it does occur. However, whether RC are introduced rapidly or gradually, final disease control remains similar due to epidemiological and evolutionary trade-offs. This study demonstrates that combining stakeholder expertise with computer modeling provides a powerful blueprint for transitioning to sustainable farming.
SN - 2767-3197
ER -