Institut für Rebenzüchtung
The control auf the downy mildew disease caused by Plasmopara viticola is a difficult challenge for the production of wine grapes, especially in organic viticulture. Considering the planned ban of copper-based fungicides and the serious impacts of the climate change, the organic viticulture is facing an increasing bad economic situation. Therefore, the main aim of the umbrella project is the optimization of existing strategies, the combination and development of new approaches to reduce the use of copper in the medium term and abandon it completely in the long term. This should create a basis to secure the organic viticulture in Germany and to ensure its further development. Especially the breeding of fungus-resilient grapevines (PIWI) should be progressed while analyze genetic resources for new downy mildew resistances, identify them in mapping populations and introgress them in elite breeding lines. The final goal is the combination of new and different resistance mechanisms to achieve a robust and long lasting field resistance while simultaneously enlarging the genetic diversity.
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity
