The effect of climate change on vineyard pests and diseases

Over the last few decades, climate change, and especially global warming, has correlated with the migration of some vineyard pests and diseases. For example, in France, the flavescence dorée phytoplasma and the associated leafhopper vector Scaphoideus titanus were first described in Armagnac in 1956. The disease has been found in Bordeaux (1994) and has been increasing in the area ever since. The vector still seems to be moving further north, to Saumur-Champigny (2006), and then Burgundy and Champagne in 2012. The related phytoplasma disease bois noir (see grapevine yellows) now occurs in southern Germany. The European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana), originating from the warmer Mediterranean areas, also seems to be travelling northwards, replacing the cool-climate vine moth (Eupoecilia ambiguella) in some areas of the Loire Valley. This northwards insect migration is generally considered to be due to the impact of warming on insect distribution, which is known to be one of the first biological indicators of climate change.