Mauro Varner Mezzacorona S.C.A.

Luisa Mattedi Fondazione E. Mach

Feeding Europe with fewer pesticides

European Parliament – Brussels - 4 November 2014

24 years of mating disruption application on grapefor L. botrana and E. ambiguella control

MEZZACORONA GROUP EXPERIENCE

MEZZACORONA GROUP A little history

The winery of Mezzocorona was founded on 1904

3000 ha in Trentino

2.500 ha grape – 500 ha apple

300 ha in South Tyrol

1000 ha in Sicily

700 ha grape

MEZZACORONA GROUP IN ITALY

MEZZACORONA: 2.800 ha – 1.600 associated farmers

Average surface/farm = 1,7 ha

less than 2 ha 77,8 %

from 2 to 5 ha 17 %

from 5 to 10 ha 4,2 %

more than 10 ha 1 %

GRAPE SURFACE

FROM 1991 TO 2014MATING DISRUPTION ON GRAPE

MATING DISRUPTION ON GRAPE IN TRENTINO

• in Trentino there are 10.000 hectares of grape

• from 2003, MD is applied on ALL the hectares (9.700 hectares)

• … now a little bit of history of mating disruption application in

Mezzacorona vineyards…

MATING DISRUPTION on GRAPE – YEAR 1991

MEZZACORONA SCA - ESAT - ISTITUTO AGRARIO S. MICHELE A/A

• 1991 from field trials to practical application

• small surface (13,7 ha)

• 55 growers were involved, Mezzacorona Winery, ESAT

technician of the area and Istituto Agrario di S. Michele all’Adige

• without cooperatives involvement, the small size of the farms

would had been an obstacle for the practical application of

mating disruption

MATING DISRUPTION – WIDE AREA EFFECT MEZZOCORONA AREA

0

1

2

3

4

5

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

% grappoli con larve% clusters with larvae

0

300

600

900

1200

1500

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Superficie in confusionemating disruption hectares

0

2

4

6

8

10

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

0

2

4

6

8

10

19921993199419951996 1997199819992000 20012002200320042005 2006200720082009 20102011201220132014

MATING DISRUPTION & PEST POPULATIONclusters with larvae (%) – First generation damage assessment

MATING DISRUPTION - MEZZOCORONA

MATING DISRUPTION - MEZZOLOMBARDOMATING

DISRUPTION

FROM 2001 Eupoecilia ambiguella APPEARANCE

MATING DISRUPTION on GRAPE - YEARS 1991- 2014DISPENSER TYPES – ROTALIANA PLAIN

FROM 2002 PRODUCTS APPLICATION IN RELATION

TO INSECTS PRESENCE

HE

CTA

RE

S

100 100 100 100 100 100 100

90,7

100 98,4 100 100 100 100 100 100 97,8 100 99,5 100 100 100 99,5 99,8

0,20,59,3

1,6 0,52,2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

% superficie senza trattamento % Superficie trattata

% MATING DISRUPTION SURFACE WITH or

WITHOUT INSECTICIDE SPRAY- MEZZOCORONA

% untreated surface % treated surface

A. ljungiana AVERAGE DAMAGE ON CLUSTERMEZZOCORONA AREA

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

DANNO MEDIO

MASSIMO

AVERAGE DAMAGE

MAX DAMAGE

MATING DISRUPTION ON A. ljungiana

0,03 0,000,21

0,890,71

0,05 0,00

0,30

0,00

1,10

2,53

1,74

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

4

4,5

5

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Danno medio confusione danno medio esternoMD - AVERAGE DAMAGE NO MD - AVERAGE DAMAGE

FROM 2013 - TRIPLE PURPOSE PRODUCTLobesia + Eupoecilia + Argyrotaenia

“POSITIVE EFFECTs”

OF MATING DISRUPTION

MATING DISRUPTION – YEAR 2014MEZZACORONA GROUP

3.000 ha – Trentino (grape & apple)

300 ha – South Tyrol

700 ha - Sicily

25 ha - Sicily for Planococcus ficus (trial)

12

,0

10

,2

6,6

10

,8

12

,0

6,0

6,0

8,4

8,4

5,4

4,8

6,7

4,6 4,8

9,4

5,2

4,0

3,8

3,5

4,0

4,0

4,0 4

,3

2,4

0,4

0,3 0

,6

0,6

0,6

1,2

0,6

0,2

0,2

0,1

0,1

0,1

0,1

0,1

0,1

1,2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

19

75

19

76

19

77

19

78

19

79

19

80

19

81

19

82

19

83

19

84

19

85

19

86

19

87

19

88

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

20

14

mating disruption

wide area project

INSECTICIDE USE (kg/ha/year)MEZZACORONA VINEYARDS

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

pp

m o

mg

/Kg

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

INSECTICIDES RESIDUESHARVESTED GRAPES - MEZZACORONA

0,000

0,010

0,020

0,030

0,040

0,050

0,060

0,070

0,080

pp

m o

mg

/Kg

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

INSECTICIDES RESIDUESWINES - MEZZACORONA

“NEW POSSIBLE PROBLEMS” THAT MAY

LEAD TO AN INCREASE OF INSECTICIDES

APPLICATION

VECTOR OF Flavescence dorée(Scaphoideus titanus)

VECTOR OF BOIS NOIR(Hyalesthes obsoletus)

VINE MEALY BUG (Planococcus ficus)

1,4 1,3 0,9

8,3

14,9

9,8

13,4

1,20

5

10

15

20

25

30

Co

nfu

sio

ne

45

g

Co

nfu

sio

ne

90

g

Co

nfu

sio

ne

45

g +

dif

es

a

Co

nfu

sio

ne

90

g +

dif

es

a

H2

azie

nd

ale

I3 a

zie

nd

ale

I6 a

zie

nd

ale

I6 T

ES

T

Gra

do

att

ac

co

su

gra

pp

olo

VINE MEALY BUG (Planococcus ficus)HARVEST DAMAGE ASSESSMENT – 28/8/2014

Mating

disruption

Mating disruption

+ insecticides

Farm

standardTEST

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

• ALL the people that helped, in various forms, for

24 years the application of mating disruption

• TO Marino Gobber, Roberto Lucin, Massimo

Frioli, Ronny Dalponte, Alberto Gelmetti, Marco

Beozzo, Michele Bonetti, Martino Andreoli,

Martino Adami, Flavia Forno for their great help

• TO all the growers that allowed the use of their

farms and followed up properly all our

indications

• Mezzacorona Group managers for their

continuous support on environmental friendly

activities

• TO Rizzoli Fabio (Mezzacorona Group CEO) for

his precious stimulus on both day-to-day work

and long term views

… thank you for your the attention…