Pierce Disease

The dangerous grapevine disease (PD for short) was first detected in Southern California in 1880, when 20,000 hectares of vines were destroyed in five years. It is also called California Vine Disease, Mysterious Disease or Anaham Disease (because it is spread to Anaham in California). It was at this time that the plant pathologist Newton B. Pierce (1856-1916) moved to California. It was named after him because of his contributions to its study. From 1933 to 1940, its strongest distribution was in California's Central Valley, from where it spread throughout the southern USA, Mexico and Central America. In the USA, the entire southern belt from California in the west to Texas and Florida on the east coast is affected. At the end of the 1990s, the disease appeared again in greater numbers. US Vice President Al Gore approved emergency aid of 36 million dollars at the end of 2000 and declared a state of (agricultural) emergency for California. In 2014, PD caused a loss of US$ 104 million to the Californian wine industry. The disease is not yet present in Europe. Probably the cooler climate prevents it from spreading northwards. If it does spread due to climate change (which is quite likely), it is mainly Mediterranean areas that are threatened.

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Pierce Disease

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