If you wish you’d attended the 2019 Phylloxera Immersion Tour to Victoria’s Yarra Valley, watch this video to get a taste of what the participants saw and heard.

For many of the 35 participants, it was the first time seeing the tiny but destructive vine pest in the field. Participants also heard about the biology of phylloxera, the financial and social impacts of phylloxera in the Yarra Valley and the farm-gate hygiene and regulatory burden of an infestation.

We encourage you to watch and share this video to promote awareness of the pest and the need to keep it contained within the current Phylloxera Infested Zones.

“We can contribute to stopping the spread of phylloxera if we implement simple but effective measures including cleaning and disinfesting machinery, equipment and footwear, only allowing ‘safe’ visitors into vineyards and abiding by our Plant Quarantine Standards,” Vinehealth Australia CEO Inca Lee said.

“The tour really opened participants’ eyes to the speed of phylloxera spread in the Yarra Valley and the work still to be done to carve out a new norm post infestation, including significant vine removal and replanting with phylloxera-resistant or tolerant rootstocks. Replanting rates to date have been alarmingly low. This may mean a drop in wine supply from the Yarra Valley.”

You can also read an article about phylloxera in the Yarra Valley from the March-April issue of WBM – Australia’s Wine Business Magazine here.