Grapevine Trunk Disease Management Strategies

Grapevine trunk diseases constitute a complex of wood-decay syndromes that inflict chronic yield losses and threaten the longevity of vineyards worldwide. Management strategies encompass preventive, cultural, biological and chemical approaches, integrated within an overarching framework of vineyard hygiene and monitoring. Preventive measures focus on reducing inoculum through removal of diseased wood, optimised pruning schedules and protective wound treatments. Cultural tactics include canopy management to improve air circulation and minimise moisture retention, thereby curbing fungal colonisation. Biological control agents and beneficial microorganisms are being harnessed to antagonise wood pathogens or to prime grapevine immunity. Advances in plant–microbe interactions have led to exploitation of symbiotic fungi and bacterial strains that bolster host defence and suppress pathogen proliferation. Chemical interventions remain limited, often involving targeted fungicide applications to pruning wounds, but their use is increasingly constrained by regulatory and environmental considerations. Holistic disease management relies on timely diagnostics, varietal selection for xylem traits linked to disease tolerance and the strategic deployment of biological and agronomic tactics to sustain vine health over successive seasons.

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Grapevine Trunk Disease Management Strategies publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in grapevine trunk disease management strategies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs): A collective term for chronic wood-decay syndromes in grapevines caused by diverse fungal pathogens.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF): Symbiotic soil fungi that colonise plant roots, enhancing nutrient uptake and stress tolerance.

Biocontrol agent (BCA): A microorganism used to suppress plant pathogens through antagonism or induction of host defences.

Pruning wound susceptibility: The period following pruning during which grapevine wounds remain prone to pathogen entry and colonisation.

Metabolomics: The large-scale study of small molecules (metabolites) in biological systems, used to elucidate biochemical responses.

References

1. Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis on grapevine response to Neofusicoccum parvum, a major trunk disease fungus. Plant Stress (2024).
2. Genomic and metabolomic insights into the modes-of-action of bacterial strains to control the grapevine wood pathogen, Fomitiporia mediterranea. Microbiological Research (2025).
3. Susceptibility of pruning wounds to grapevine trunk diseases: A quantitative analysis of literature data. Frontiers in Plant Science (2023).