He’s back! The much-loved Phil the Phylloxera Guy made a reintroduction to the wine industry, with a guest appearance at the 19th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC) and WineTech Exhibition in Adelaide on 22 July.
While Phylloxera Phil is much loved and very popular, he does have a terrible alter-ego – the tiny grapevine killing insect he represents. Grapevine phylloxera is hated by industry after decimating own rooted grapevines across the globe. Most of Australia, including South Australia, has remained phylloxera-free.
Phylloxera Phil has an important message about the pest, which likes to hitchhike on footwear, clothing, equipment and plant material as well as any other item in contact with infected vineyard soils or grapevines.
Furthermore, phylloxera can survive for 29 days off grapevines, so it can be transported long distances and infect new grapevines.
There is no known cure for phylloxera, so prevention is the best policy. Grapevine rootstocks are expensive, and replanting vineyards on rootstock takes many years to return to full production, and phylloxera continues to survive on roots.
Phylloxera Phil’s appearance at the AWITC Session Six plenary session sponsored by Vinehealth Australia on Innovative Solutions for Vineyard Health, caught many off-guard and in shock at how easily phylloxera can enter our industry.
Phylloxera Phil has swamped many social media platforms and has become quite a celebrity. Keep an eye out for Phil at future industry events.
Finally, it is pleasing to note that Phylloxera Phil is unable to breed, as it only takes one female phylloxera to create an outbreak.