Viticulture
Phylloxera
The aphid that destroyed European viticulture, and the grafting solution still used today.
Overview
Phylloxera is a tiny root-feeding aphid native to eastern North America. American vine species evolved alongside it and tolerate it; Vitis vinifera has no defence.
It reached Europe in the 1860s, probably on imported plant material, and destroyed the majority of European vineyards over the following decades. The economic and social damage was immense.
The solution — grafting European fruiting varieties onto American rootstocks — was contentious at the time and is now near-universal. It does not eliminate the insect; it makes the vine's roots resistant to it.
A few places escaped: Chile (protected by geography), parts of South Australia, and sandy or volcanic soils where the insect cannot move. Ungrafted old vines there are a genuinely rare resource.
The crisis also reshaped what is planted. Many varieties never came back, and vineyard maps were redrawn permanently.
Sources
Sources consulted
- UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology — University of California, Davis
- INRAE — French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment — INRAE
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