Anger is rising amongst wine growers about l'Esca, the disease ravaging French vine stocks.
This disease, caused by a fungus, attacks the vine stocks and kills them.
Professionals have noted a new outbreak of this veritable "vine cancer" this year.
The Charentes region (the Ugni Blanc vine variety is particularly sensitive to the disease) but also the Gironde and Gers regions are becoming more and more affected.
"The vine stocks are dying before our very eyes", laments a producer, " We are having to dig up 15 year-old vines and replant."
A demonstration is planned for the 11th September in the town of Auch (Gers) to support the producers' demand for their area to be classified as an agricultural disaster zone and to obtain subsidies for replanting.
In the past this disease was treated successfully by using sodium arsenite but use of this chemical became illegal in 2007 for public health reasons. Since then scientific research has made little progress and the technological dead end is very real.
César Compadre
doc@sudouest.com
S.O. 02/09/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.