Grape pest confirmed

By Kath Gannaway
THREE vineyards in the Yarra Valley have now been confirmed with Phylloxera.
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) confirmed that the grapevine pest had been detected in two vineyards, as well as in the original Fosters-owned Beavis Vineyard at Coldstream.
Coombe Farm, also in Coldstream and the Racecourse Vineyard in Yarra Glen as the two new vineyards affected.
The DPI said the vineyards were outside the existing control area, the Maroondah Phylloxera Infested Zone (PIZ) which was declared after the 2006 outbreak.
The declaration restricts the movement of grapevine materials, machinery and equipment out of the PIZ.
The DPI will now extend the boundaries of the Maroondah PIZ.
Senior DPI Plant Standards Officer Greg King said the DPI was notified when property owners noticed poor vigour in a number of vines.
Samples confirmed the presence of the bug.
“DPI Plant Standards officers will meet with local growers, winery managers and industry groups to help decide on the most appropriate new boundaries for the Maroondah PIZ,” Mr King said.
Yarra Valley Winegrowers Association general manager Richard Howden told the Mail that meeting would take place next Monday at Lilydale and was open to all YVWA members and other interested people.
He said the meeting would provide an opportunity for the industry to have a say and contribute to a plan for dealing with the phylloxera problem.
The possibility of declaring the whole of the Yarra Valley a Phylloxera zone has been mooted.
“If everyone decided that was the best way to go it’s a possibility, but that’s up to all our members and other interested parties to decide,” Mr Howden said.
He said protocols would also be looked at.
“We have some of the strictest protocols in this region, some of which have been taken up by other regions,” he said.
Mr King said that grape phylloxera did not affect grape juice or fruit and was not a public health issue.
Early detection is the best defence against phylloxera and it can be effectively managed with a cooperative approach.