By: P.T., STA
A team of Slovenian women researchers from the National Institute of Biology has developed a test for detecting a specific strain of phytoplasma that causes flavescence dorée, a grapevine disease that causes the most damage in vineyards in South Africa.
According to the institute, wine growers from all over the world are affected by flavescence dorée, caused by different strains of phytoplasma transmitted by leafhoppers. “We currently have no real defence against these diseases. We try to reduce the number of transmitters with insecticides to prevent them from infecting more plants,” the institute said.