Xylella fastidiosa

The grapevine disease (PD) belongs to the group of yellowing diseases. It first appeared in Southern California in 1880. At that time, 20,000 hectares of vines were destroyed here in just five years. It is also known as California Vine Disease, Mysterious Disease or Anaham Disease (because it is widespread in California up to Anaham). The US plant pathologist Newton B. Pierce (1856-1916) successfully researched the disease, which was named after him.

From around 1940, the disease spread from California's Central Valley across the entire southern USA, Mexico and Central America. In the USA, the entire southern belt from California in the west via Texas to Florida on the east coast is affected. Flavescence dorée is a grapevine disease with similar symptoms but different pathogens.

The picture on the left shows the typical symptom of a leaf of a white wine variety, the picture on the right shows the cicada species Glassy-winged Sharpshooter, which transmits the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.

State of emergency in California

At the end of the 1990s, the disease became more prevalent again. In 2000, US Vice President Al Gore approved emergency aid totalling 36 million dollars and declared a state of emergency for California. I 2014, PD caused the Californian wine industry a loss of US$ 104 million. It does not yet occur in Europe. The cooler climate presumably prevents it from spreading northwards. Climate change is now...