Protecting the Roots of Australian Wine: Managing Grapevine Trunk Diseases for Vineyard Longevity
Across Australia’s wine regions, from the cool valleys of Tasmania to the warm inland vineyards of the Riverland, one silent threat has been shortening vineyard lifespans and cutting yields—grapevine trunk diseases. These infections, caused by fungi such as Eutypa and Botryosphaeria diebacks as well as nursery-borne pathogens like black foot and Petri disease, enter through fresh wounds, especially those left after pruning.
Once inside, they slowly decay wood, weaken cordons and arms, and eventually kill vines. What makes these diseases particularly challenging is their stealth: infection often occurs during wet conditions shortly after pruning, yet visible symptoms may take years to show. This slow but destructive process makes proactive management essential for vineyard longevity.
The fight against trunk disease begins with prevention. Vineyards stand a better chance when planted with clean, carefully managed nursery material.
Hot-water treatment of cuttings and grafted plants has proven effective in reducing latent infections and improving plant health, while strict sanitation in propagation helps ensure young vines start disease-free. But the real test begins in the field, where pruning practices play a central role.
Research in Australia shows that pruning wounds are most vulnerable for around two weeks after cutting, particularly when followed by rain or irrigation. That short window is when the disease takes hold, which is why growers are urged to adopt careful timing, such as late pruning or the two-stage method known as double pruning, to reduce exposure.
Just as importantly, protecting pruning wounds with fungicidal or biological treatments within hours of cutting can make the difference between a healthy vine and one that declines prematurely.
Climatic diversity adds another layer of complexity. In wetter regions like the Yarra Valley or Tasmania, spores are readily dispersed after rainfall, demanding strict adherence to dry-day pruning and immediate wound protection.
Mediterranean climates like McLaren Vale and Margaret River benefit from late pruning strategies that shorten the period of risk, while warm, humid zones such as the Hunter Valley require vigilance throughout an extended spore season.
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Even in hot inland areas where rain is infrequent, irrigation can mimic rainfall by splashing spores onto fresh cuts, so timing irrigation and pruning schedules becomes a matter of disease prevention.
Sanitation is equally critical. Old, infected wood and discarded prunings can act as spore factories, feeding new cycles of infection. Best practice involves removing or mulching prunings and retraining vines through trunk renewal techniques.
By cutting back to clean wood and training new shoots into productive cordons, growers can reclaim vines that might otherwise have been lost, provided they follow up with ongoing protection. Vineyards that combine renewal strategies with annual wound treatment have been shown to restore productivity and extend vine life significantly.
Managing trunk diseases is not about a single solution but about building layers of protection. Clean planting stock, careful pruning schedules, timely wound treatment, vigilant sanitation, and retraining when needed all work together to safeguard Australia’s vineyards. While the threat of trunk disease will always be present, growers who take these steps are not just protecting individual vines—they are protecting the future of their vineyards, their communities, and the heritage of Australian wine itself.
