PHEROMONES-ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
The grape berry moth is the most important plague that affects the vineyards in La Rioja, inflicting different degrees of damage according to the moth generation and climate conditions. The damages have directly an impact on crop losses, but specially on grape quality, as the wounds produced on the berries are an entry focus for grey rot ( Botrytis cinérea).
The Sexual Confusion is a clean control technique that allows to minimise or even eliminate the application of insecticides. It is based on the use of pheromones that act as “chemical messengers” among insects, such as the sex pheromones that the females emit to attract the males. This technique consists in diffusing a sufficient quantity of synthesized female pheromones to saturate the male receptive capacity with the aim of “confusing” the males and therefore making difficult their capacity to locate the females, blocking the fecundation and disrupting the plague evolution.
The results in recent years have been very successful with an effectiveness even superior to the traditional chemical products.
We wager on this technique for the management of our vineyards, because besides being a very effective technique it is not based on chemicals and thereby it does not alter the vineyard biological balance and it is respectful of auxiliary fauna. It is a control biotechnological method with clear benefits to environment, applicators and consumers.
Nowadays, 100% of our white grape variety vineyards and 50% of the red varieties, are treated with this technique, looking to achieve the 100% on these over the next five years.