# More sustainability in Europe's vineyards – Using resistant grapevine varieties to reduce the input of pesticides

Oliver Trapp, Komlan Avia, Clementine Borrelli, Rudolf Eibach, Didier Merdinoglu, Reinhard Töpfer

► To cite this version:

Oliver Trapp, Komlan Avia, Clementine Borrelli, Rudolf Eibach, Didier Merdinoglu, et al.. More sustainability in Europe's vineyards – Using resistant grapevine varieties to reduce the input of pesticides.
Plants, People, Planet, 2025, 10.1002/ppp3.70038. hal-05313195

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https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05313195v1

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REVIEW

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# More sustainability in Europe's vineyards – Using resistant grapevine varieties to reduce the input of pesticides

Oliver Trapp<fnref n="1" /> ID

Komlan Avia<fnref n="2" /> ID

Clementine Borrelli<fnref n="2" />

Rudolf Eibach<fnref n="3" />

Didier Merdinoglu<fnref n="2" /> ID

Reinhard Töpfer<fnref n="1" /> ID

Correspondence

Oliver Trapp, Julius Kuehn Institute - Institute for Grapevine, Breeding Geilweilerhof, 76833 Siebeldingen, Germany.

Email: oliver.trapp@julius-kuehn.de

Komlan Avia, Université de Strasbourg, INRAE, SVQV UMR-A 1131, F-68000 Colmar, France.

Email: komlan.avia@inrae.fr

Societal Impact Statement

Widespread adoption of disease-resistant grapevine varieties presents a significant opportunity to revolutionize viticulture and address pressing environmental concerns. By reducing reliance on chemical pesticides, these varieties align with the European Commission's Green Deal objectives, striving for sustainable agricultural practices. Despite initial hesitancy among winegrowers and consumers, shifting attitudes towards sustainability and environmental consciousness are fostering increased acceptance of these varieties. As the market evolves, coupled with supportive policy measures for adoption, disease-resistant vines are poised to significantly expand their presence in European vineyards. This transition not only mitigates environmental impact but also ensures the long-term viability and resilience of viticulture.

Summary

Sustainable agriculture and most prominently the reduction of pesticides is one of the main goals of the European Unions (EU) agricultural policy. As viticulture uses around 70% of the fungicides in the EU, there is substantial pressure on winemakers to reduce their pesticide input. On top of the political goal, winegrowers face increased pressure from the public demanding a more sustainable production of wine. Since the introduction of downy mildew, powdery mildew, and other pests and pathogens from North America to Europe in the 19th century, substantial breeding efforts were undertaken to develop disease-resistant varieties and reduce the amount of plant protection products needed for harvesting healthy grapes. Today's winegrowers in Europe can choose from many new varieties, allowing them to reduce fungicide input by 50-80% and produce high-quality wines on par with the valued traditional cultivars. This review will provide an overview on the current situation of disease-resistant varieties in European viticulture. Selected breeding institutions and private breeders will be introduced, and their most important grapevine varieties presented. Many resistant varieties are available for winegrowers today, however, even the most robust new varieties will not lead to a more sustainable viticulture if the market does not accept them. The adoption and acceptance of new

<footnote n="1">¹Julius Kuehn Institute – Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof, Siebeldingen, Germany</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Université de Strasbourg, INRAE, SVQV UMR-A 1131, Colmar, France</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³Verband Deutscher Rebenpflanzguterzeuger e.V., Ditzingen, Germany</footnote>
varieties by winegrowers and consumers is still rather low, but the interest in these varieties is rapidly growing. The production of grafted vines of disease-resistant grapevine varieties allows the estimation that the area of disease-resistant varieties will significantly grow in the next years.

KEYWORDS

breeding, disease-tolerant varieties, grapevine, market acceptance, piwi, sustainability

## 1 | PESTICIDE REDUCTION GOALS IN AGRICULTURE

One of the biggest challenges humankind has to face today is the question of how to make agricultural production more sustainable in consideration of the ongoing climate change. In 2019, the European Union (EU) presented the European Green Deal with ambitious goals to overcome the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation and fund the necessary transition of the European economy with at least 1 trillion €. The most important part of the European Green for agriculture was the Farm-to-Fork Strategy (European Commission, 2020), which aimed to make food production more sustainable. One central goal of the strategy was to reduce (1) the use and risk of chemical pesticides and (2) the use of more hazardous pesticides each by 50% by 2030. However, by the time of writing this review, after many doubts and complaints were raised by farmers in the EU, the reduction goals found no majority and were retracted and will be revised. But Europe's ambitious goals were a sign that agricultural production needs to be reevaluated and sustainability will play an important role in agriculture of the future. The reduction of the pesticides used will be one of the key factors in the transition.

## 2 | VITICULTURE IN EUROPE

Europe is regarded as the cradle of modern viticulture and is the continent with the largest acreage of grapevines in the world. With around 3.2 million ha planted with vines, the EU constituted around 45% of all the vineyards worldwide in 2020 (Eurostat, 2022). In the EU, 16 countries have more than 500 ha of vineyards and represent 99.97% of the total acreage (see Table 1), whereas eleven countries have a smaller area under vines and account for the rest. Spain (910,859 ha), France (792,565 ha) and Italy (688,985 ha) are the three biggest wine growing countries, followed by Romania (180,683 ha), Portugal (173,254 ha) and Germany in 6th position with 103,554 ha in 2020, very close to Greece with 103,058 ha. The average size of a vineyard holding in the EU was relatively small with only 1.43 ha per holding on average, and are often family-run businesses. However, holdings in France are an outlier and on average 10.55 ha in size. Generally, it is an ongoing trend that smaller holdings are vanishing and the vineyards are bought by bigger businesses. In cool climate countries like Germany, Austria, and Hungary, white wine varieties are prevalent, whereas warmer countries grow more red wine

varieties. In 2020, the majority (65.3%) of vineyards were used to produce wines of protected designation of origin, the highest category of quality. The vast majority of cultivars used in Europe are susceptible to the vitically important diseases, most prominently the fungal diseases Downy Mildew (DM) and Powdery Mildew (PM). In order to harvest healthy grapes, winegrowers need to use high quantities of fungicides in their vineyards. In Europe, around two-thirds of all the fungicides used in agriculture are applied in viticulture, although viticulture constitutes only around 4% of the agricultural area (Eurostat, 2007). This highlights the potential to reduce pesticide usage in viticulture in order to fulfill the goals set by the Green Deal and make viticulture more sustainable.

## 3 | SOLUTIONS FOR VITICULTURE

Continuous research over the last decades resulted in significant progress in developing methods and materials for sustainable viticulture. Today's winegrowers can use this knowledge and the tools and plants to make their vineyards more environmentally sound in order to reach the ambitious goals set by the EU in the Farm-to-Fork strategy. Of

<table><caption>TABLE 1 The total area under wines of the 16 member states of the EU with more than 500 ha of vineyards in 2020 (Eurostat, 2022).</caption><thead><tr><td>Rank</td><td>Country</td><td>Total area under vines (ha)</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Spain</td><td>910.859</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>France</td><td>792.565</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Italy</td><td>688.985</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Romania</td><td>180.683</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Portugal</td><td>173.254</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Germany</td><td>103.554</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Greece</td><td>103.058</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Hungary</td><td>62.108</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Bulgaria</td><td>60.169</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Austria</td><td>46.273</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Czechia</td><td>18.099</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Croatia</td><td>17.628</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Slovenia</td><td>15.363</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Slovakia</td><td>13.108</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Cyprus</td><td>7.613</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Luxembourg</td><td>1.294</td></tr></tbody></table>
note is, for example, the development of the VitiMeteo prediction sys-
tem by the Staatliches Weinbauinstitut Freiburg (WBI) in Germany
and Agroscope in Switzerland (Dubuis et al., 2019). It is used in
Germany, Switzerland, and other European countries as a tool to pre-
dict the infection pressure of the most important diseases and pests.
The online tool uses weather and monitoring data of a tight network
of stations to calculate the risk of infection and therefore helps the
winegrower to determine the ideal timepoint for plant protection in
the vineyards. It even provides information on how long the plant
protection product will be active in the vineyards, depending on
weather conditions and growth of the vines, and is a powerful tool to
optimize plant protection throughout the growing season. Progress in
viticultural machinery, first and foremost the use of recycling
sprayers, can also help to reduce the amount of plant protection
products used in viticulture. However, the highest potential for the
reduction of pesticides have new, disease-resistant grapevine
varieties, the fruits of long-lasting grapevine breeding programs.
Several cultivated disease-resistant varieties were recently evaluated
for their pesticide reduction potential in France and Germany, and
they allowed the reduction of up to 90% of plant protection treat-
ments (Eisenmann et al., 2023; Miclot et al., 2022). Subsequently, the
use of disease-resistant varieties and the reduction of fungicides was
shown to lead to an increased richness of arthropods in the vine-
yards, a sign of higher sustainability when using disease-resistant
varieties (Kaczmarek et al., 2023).

4 | GRAPEVINE BREEDING

Breeding disease-resistant grapevine varieties started in Europe soon
after the introduction of PM, DM, and Phylloxera from North
America. Phylloxera was effectively dealt with by developing
Phylloxera-tolerant rootstock varieties based on North American Vitis
species and grafting traditional European cultivars on top of
it. Development of disease-resistant varieties for wine production was
initially successful and winegrowers adopted these varieties fast, but
doubts concerning their wine quality led to an almost complete disap-
pearance of these varieties in Europe's vineyards in the middle of the
20th century (Galet, 1988). In Germany, breeding disease-resistant
varieties gained momentum in the 1920s, and in 1992, the first variety
from a resistance breeding program was registered and allowed for
quality wine production. The red wine variety 'Regent' from the Julius
Kuehn Institute (JKI) followed in 1994 and was well received by wine-
growers and broke the ice for the new generation of disease-resistant
varieties and sparked new interest in breeding disease-resistant varie-
ties throughout Europe.

Actually, major progress in combining disease resistance and wine
quality has only been achieved in the past couple of decades
(Montaigne et al., 2021). To control PM and DM with minimal use of
agrochemicals, genetic improvement through the interspecific intro-
gression of resistance genes (R genes) has been the most straightfor-
ward approach. These genes play a significant role in plant defense

(Chisholm et al., 2006). A few of them conferring protection against PM and DM have been identified in grapevine, while several others are known as Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) and are used in introgression breeding as resistance haplotypes (Merdinoglu et al., 2018; Possamai & Wiedemann-Merdinoglu, 2022). The donors of those resistance factors are wild relative species, with a few exceptions.

5 | RESISTANCE LOCI USED IN
GRAPEVINE BREEDING

For a long time, breeding disease-resistant varieties was a purely
empirical endeavor. Progeny of crosses had to be evaluated for their
degree of resistance in the greenhouse, in the fields, or in lab tests.
Due to advances in research on the genetics of grapevine, molecular
characterization of genetic loci responsible for the resistances ("resis-
tance loci") was possible. This knowledge allows the use of molecular
markers to trace these resistances in the progeny ("Marker Assisted
Selection", MAS) without the need for time-consuming experiments
or field evaluations. Over time a wealth of resistance loci was discov-
ered and characterized. Today, 32 resistance loci against DM and
13 resistance loci against PM are described (overview at www.vivc.
de/loci), however, only a fraction is usable in MAS. Against PM,
breeders in Europe use the resistance loci Run1 (Barker et al., 2005),
Ren1 (Hoffmann et al., 2008), Ren3 (Welter et al., 2007), Ren4 (Riaz
et al., 2011), and Ren9 (Zendler et al., 2017) in MAS. Against DM Rpv1
(Merdinoglu et al., 2002), Rpv3.1 (Welter et al., 2007) and its allelic
variants Rpv3.2 (Zyprian et al., 2016) and Rpv3.3 (Vezzulli et al., 2019),
Rpv10 (Schwander et al., 2012), and Rpv12 (Venuti et al., 2013) are in
use. The degree of resistance these loci are exhibiting is of course
heavily dependent on the environmental conditions and disease pres-
sure, but in Central Europe Run1, Ren1, Ren4 are regarded as very
strong against PM. Ren3 and Ren9 are linked resistances and are usu-
ally inherited together and exhibit medium strength resistance against
the pathogen. Rpv10 and Rpv12 are strong against DM, whereas Rpv1
conveys medium resistance. The three allelic variants of Rpv3
(Di Gaspero et al., 2012) exhibit weak to medium resistance. Addition-
ally, Rgb1 (Rex et al., 2014), a resistance locus against black rot (BR), is
traced via MAS. Apart from these well-described loci, breeders in
Europe are also using genetic resources with unknown resistance loci
in their breeding programs. Most of the known resistance loci lack
mechanistic characterization. However, in the case of Rpv3.1, Rpv10,
and Rpv12, hypersensitive reaction was observed after infection with
DM (Bellin et al., 2009; Chitarrini et al., 2020; Pezet et al., 2004).
Similarly, the production of reactive oxygen species, as well as callose
deposition, was observed in Run1 and Ren1 carriers, effectively
restricting hyphal growth of PM (Agurto et al., 2017). In order to
increase the degree of resistance and the durability of the resistance
(Mundt, 2018), breeders endeavour to combine several resistance loci
in their new varieties (also called gene pyramiding), which was only
made feasible through the use of molecular markers and MAS in the
last two decades.
## 6 | SELECTED GRAPEVINE BREEDING PROGRAMS

Today, there are many ongoing grapevine breeding programs in Europe focused on the development of new disease-resistant varieties. Most of them are state-funded, but there are also some private breeders with their own programs. As there are too many to list, this overview will only present a select few. A more detailed overview is provided in Reynolds, 2015.

In Germany, the JKl - Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof is breeding disease-resistant varieties and is heavily invested in grapevine research. ‘Regent’ in 1994 was one of the first varieties the JKl released. ‘Regent’ carries the *Rpv3.1* locus against DM and *Ren3* and *Ren9* against PM and is considered to have a low resistance by today’s standards. However, even with high DM pressure in 2021, ‘Regent’ was observed to still be able to reduce fungicide use by 50% in ongoing trials in the breeders vineyards at the Geilweilerhof. Apart from its success as variety, ‘Regent’ was also often used as a resistance donor in subsequent crosses both at the JKl and at other European breeders and is the parent to many other important disease-resistant varieties. After the turn of the millennium, the JKl focused on combining resistance loci with the help of MAS in their breeding program. In 2018, Calardis Blanc was released and combined two resistances against DM (*Rpv3.1* and *Rpv3.2*), PM resistance (*Ren3* and *Ren9*) together with BR resistance and beneficial traits facing climate change, like sunburn resistance and a later ripening time than many other disease-resistant varieties. Currently, the JKl evaluates several variety candidates with additional *Run1*, *Rpv1*, and also *Rpv10* loci.

The WBI in Freiburg, Germany, released several disease-resistant varieties in the 1990s (e.g. Johanniter), but the 2001-released variety Solaris quickly became the most popular disease-resistant white wine variety in Germany and other European cool climate winegrowing areas. Solaris exhibits a strong resistance against DM due to the *Rpv10* and *Rpv3.3* loci, medium resistance to PM (*Ren3* and *Ren9*), and very early ripening time, rendering it well suited for Northern wine growing countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. In 2012, the WBI released Souvignier Gris, which was very well received by winegrowers, e.g., due to its similarity to Pinot Gris, and is currently the most-sought after disease-resistant variety in Europe. One new variety developed by the WBI ("Carillon") carrying *Run1*, *Ren3*, *Ren9*, *Rpv1*, and *Rpv10* loci is currently in registration, and its release will follow in the near future.

The French grapevine breeding program INRAE-ResDur targeted an ideotype that exhibits high resistance to major diseases, intermediate resistance to secondary diseases, and berry composition suitable for producing high-quality wines in a changing climate. In collaboration with JKl and WBI, as well as the Swiss institute Agroscope of Changins, the program has been implemented through three successive series of crosses (ResDur1; ResDur2 and ResDur3), with resistance gene pyramiding to ensure a durable resistance against DM and PM (Schneider et al., 2019) and with a core breeding scheme lasting 15 years. The ResDur1 and ResDur2 series have enriched the official

catalogue with 12 varieties so far. Floreal, Voltis, Artaban, and Vidoc were part of ResDur1, carry *Run1*, *Ren3*, *Ren9*, *Rpv1*, and *Rpv3.1* resistance loci, and were registered in 2018. Opalor, Selenor, Lilaro, Sirano, Coliris, Calys, Artys, Exelys were registered between 2022 and 2024 for ResDur2, and most of them carry *Run1*, *Ren3*, *Ren9*, *Rpv1*, and *Rpv10* resistance loci as well as the BR resistance loci *Rgb1* and *Rgb3*. An overview about the resistance loci in ResDur varieties can be found in Table S1. The INRAE-ResDur varieties exhibit strong resistance to PM and DM, and good production potential and wine quality. Based on our current knowledge, potential savings in phytosanitary inputs surpass 80% (Miclot et al., 2022). The ResDur3 series is expected to register 5 to 7 varieties in 2026. Also in France, the private breeding company Mercier is developing grapevine varieties resistant to major fungal diseases, including DM, PM, and BR, as part of their NATHY breeding program. To date, 24 varieties have reached the final stage and are undergoing the catalog registration process, with the first expected to be registered by 2026. The integrated resistance factors include *Rpv1*, *Rpv3.1*, *Rpv3.2*, *Rpv10*, *Rpv12*, *Run1*, *Ren3*, *Ren9*, and *Rgb1*.

The private Swiss breeder Valentin Blattner developed several varieties in cooperation with a German nursery. Particularly the variety ‘Cabernet Blanc’ resonates very well with winegrowers all around Europe due to its resemblance of Sauvignon Blanc-style wines and has the second highest acreage of disease-resistant varieties in Germany. His new variety ‘Sauvignac’ is also of note as it features the DM resistance loci *Rpv3.1* and *Rpv12*, resulting in a strong resistance against this disease. Additionally, it carries *Ren3* and *Ren9* against PM. Its fruity Sauvignon-style wines and good resistance properties are the reasons why this variety is very popular among winegrowers all around Europe.

There are also several ongoing breeding programs in Italy. For example, the University of Udine started a breeding program for disease-resistant varieties around the turn of the millennium. The first batch of 10 varieties were released in 2015, and the nursery Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR) took over international distribution of the varieties. These varieties carry the *Rpv3.1* and/or *Rpv12* loci against DM, and some carry *Ren3* and *Ren9* against PM. Four further varieties derived from crosses of a disease-resistant breeding line from Hungary with Pinot Noir or Pinot Blanc were recently released and are distributed internationally by VCR, too. The *Run1* and *Rpv1* resistance loci were introduced into some of their latest disease-resistant varieties, too. Additionally, the Fondazione Edmund Mach released four disease-resistant varieties (‘Charvir’, ‘Nermantis’, ‘Termantis’, ‘Valnosia’) in 2021, and they are available for winegrowers in Europe as well.

## 7 | ADOPTION OF DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES

In Europe, the deep cultural attachment to traditional grape varieties is an important obstacle to a broader adoption of disease-resistant varieties. Nevertheless, when ‘Regent’ was introduced to the German
market in 1995, winegrowers were very interested and eager to plant this new disease-resistant variety. The acreage of 'Regent' rose up to 2,183 ha in 2006 in Germany, and other European countries showed interest in the variety, as well. The variety paved the way for many new disease-resistant varieties in Germany. However, the area under disease-resistant wines in Germany only grew slowly in the following years and was almost stagnating between 2005 and 2015. Since 2016, the area is slowly increasing again and the disease-resistant varieties currently sum up to 3-3,5% of the viticultural acreage (Table 2), making Germany the top EU country for disease-resistant varieties in proportion of the total viticulture area. In France, at the end of 2023, disease-resistant varieties occupied approximately 2,300 ha with 1,200 ha for INRAE-ResDur varieties. Despite the advantages of disease-resistant varieties, many winegrowers are still hesitant to plant these varieties as they still have unfounded doubts

<table><caption>TABLE 2 Area of selected disease-resistant grapevine varieties in Germany in 2022 in comparison to 2012.</caption><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Disease-resistant Variety</th><th>Acreage 2012 in ha</th><th>Acreage 2022 in ha</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1.</td><td>Regent</td><td>2.047</td><td>1.618</td></tr><tr><td>2.</td><td>Cabernet Blanc</td><td>-</td><td>260</td></tr><tr><td>3.</td><td>Solaris</td><td>102</td><td>207</td></tr><tr><td>4.</td><td>Souvignier Gris</td><td>-</td><td>204</td></tr><tr><td>5.</td><td>Johanniter</td><td>94</td><td>141</td></tr><tr><td>6.</td><td>Muscaris</td><td>-</td><td>117</td></tr><tr><td>7.</td><td>Cabernet Cortis</td><td>34</td><td>60</td></tr><tr><td>8.</td><td>Phoenix</td><td>48</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>9.</td><td>Pinotin</td><td>-</td><td>36</td></tr><tr><td>10.</td><td>Helios</td><td>-</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td>11.</td><td>Prior</td><td>-</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>12.</td><td>Cabertin</td><td>-</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>13.</td><td>Monarch</td><td>-</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>14.</td><td>Saphira</td><td>-</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>15.</td><td>Rondo</td><td>11</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>16.</td><td>Cabernet Carbon</td><td>-</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>17.</td><td>Hibernal</td><td>1</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>18.</td><td>Cabernet Carol</td><td>-</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>19.</td><td>Piroso</td><td>-</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>20.</td><td>Bronner</td><td>4</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>21.</td><td>Merzling</td><td>4</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>22.</td><td>Staufer</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>23.</td><td>Villaris</td><td>-</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Others*</td><td>418</td><td>699</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Total</td><td>2.764</td><td>3.518</td></tr></tbody></table>

Note: The table shows the acreage of selected varieties in 2012 and 2022. Many of the varieties planted today were not yet introduced in 2012, or no data was available ("-"). The category "Others" also includes traditional varieties of minor interest, but is mostly constituted by disease-resistant varieties prior to registration or shortly after registration (Source: German Federal Office of Statistics).

about the wine quality, the resistance properties, or how to sell wines of new cultivars the consumers do not know (Trapp & Töpfer, 2023). German wine consumers in particular prefer varietal wines of varieties they are familiar with and wines of disease-resistant varieties with new, and consequently unknown names are at a disadvantage (Kiefer & Szolnoki, 2023a). However, the general public developed a rising awareness for environmental issues and demands more sustainability, also for the production of food and drinks. Therefore, the interest in wines from more sustainable production is growing, and many people are eager to try wines from disease-resistant cultivars and overall, the wines of disease-resistant varieties are perceived to be of similar quality as traditional varieties and have the potential to satisfy the consumers (Kiefer & Szolnoki, 2023b). In France, there were several cases of conflicts between neighboring populations and winegrowers linked to heavy pesticide sprays, leading to an increasing pressure towards the reduction of pesticide use, especially in populated areas.

Winegrowers in Germany faced very difficult years with extremely high pressure of DM in 2016 and 2021, and became more open to planting disease-resistant varieties in the last years. In fact, the interest in disease-resistant varieties grew up to the point that the production of grafted vines could not keep up with the demand, and vines of the most popular disease-resistant varieties are mostly sold out one year in advance.

In France, similarly to Germany, things are evolving slowly and the consumers' awareness to the environmental benefits of such varieties is rising, with the hope that the young generation will push the change forward. The aforementioned public pressure together with the ambitious EU-goals are playing a significant role in the positive trend. The EU Green Deal goals have been translated into national laws with a government financial program called "Plan Ecosphyto" launched in 2009, that has funded several projects in all crops including grape. Although very limited for now, national regulations concerning the cultivation of disease-resistant varieties are also evolving despite strong restraints in the PDOs (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGIs (Protected Geographical Indication) in France. Thanks to recent changes, it is now possible to use disease-resistant varieties in some PDOs at a maximum rate of 10% for the blend and 5% for the acreage. In the famous Champagne production region, the INRAE-ResDur1 variety 'Voltis' has just been authorized, and planting will start from 2023. This is a significant push for disease-resistant varieties. Overall, in France, further modifications of the national regulations are needed to induce a broader adoption of disease-resistant varieties. In fact, although there are reasons to be optimistic, the adoption rate is overall still very limited, albeit with rapid progress. As of 2023, approximately 50 varieties mainly resistant to PM and DM were registered in the French national catalog of varieties: 20 of them are considered historical and include varieties such as Baco Blanc, Chambourcin Noir, Maréchal Foch or Seyval Blanc; 12 are foreign varieties registered in 2017 and include varieties such as Bronner, Cabernet Cortis, Solaris, Soreli or Souvignier Gris; 4 INRAE-ResDur1 varieties; 8 INRAE-ResDur2 varieties, and Sauvignac. Additionally, there are 3 varieties for distillation (Coutia
Blanc, Luminan Blanc, and Vidal Blanc). The number of these disease-resistant varieties has doubled during the last 2 decades, but their total acreage is limited. Although recent varieties such as those from the INRAE-ResDur program, provide public descriptions of their resistance factors (Table S1), this information is unfortunately not always available for some of the other varieties that claim resistance properties.

As reduction of fungicides also means less expenditure for plant protection products, there is also an economical reason to switch to disease-resistant grapevine varieties when planting a vineyard. This is an important factor influencing decision-making making especially in European countries with less spending power. In some of the smaller winegrowing countries in the European Union (e.g. Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands), copper is not even registered as a fungicide, and therefore, disease-resistant varieties are planted almost exclusively. Early ripening varieties from the German and Valentin Blattner's breeding programs are mostly cultivated there.

## 8 | PRODUCTION OF GRAFTED DISEASE-RESISTANT GRAPEVINE VARIETIES

The current data on the area planted with disease-resistant varieties does not directly reflect the current trend of viticulture but lags a few years behind the winegrowers' decision on what to plant. A look at the production of grafted vines in the nurseries is a way to have a more up-to-date look at the current developments:

In 2022, German nurseries grafted around 24 M vines, of which 5.3 M (22.1%) were made with disease-resistant varieties (see Table 3). In 2017 and 2018, disease-resistant varieties only made up around 9.6% of the graftings, showing a significant increase in the production of disease-resistant grafted vines. A look at the relative amount of planted disease-resistant varieties, however, reveals that in 2022, only 9.5% of the annually planted grapevines were disease-resistant. This, in turn, means many grafted vines of disease-resistant varieties are exported into other European countries. In France, total grafted vine production has been stable overall between 2018 and 2023, with an average of 226 M plants. Production of disease-resistant varieties is progressing rapidly with an average of 4.4 M graftings (1.9% of the total number of graftings) between 2021 and 2023.

Taken together, the data leads to the conclusion that in the coming years, the area under disease-resistant vines in Europe, and in particular in Germany, is going to grow significantly. This coincides

with a survey among Swiss producers, which stated that one third of the new plantings of grapevines in the next decade will be with disease-resistant varieties and thus the farm level share of resistant varieties is expected to grow from 10.2% in 2022 to 27.4% in 2032 (Zachmann et al., 2024).

## 9 | STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE ADOPTION OF DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES

While the acreage of disease-resistant vines is slowly growing in Europe, the current challenges and goals will only be met if the adoption of disease-resistant varieties is increased. As vineyards have a natural renewal rate of 2-3% annually, the producers' variety choices are a crucial point for more sustainability in viticulture in the long run. Several factors influence the producers decision to plant disease-resistant varieties when replacing vineyards, and different strategies can increase their willingness to switch from susceptible varieties:

The modification of individual PDO production guidelines to include authorized disease-resistant varieties for PDO wine production will help positioning wines from these varieties in a tough market. However, this inclusion takes time to be agreed upon among producers. But this will be a crucial step in reaching broader acceptance of the new varieties among winegrowers. It takes a long time until new resistant varieties develop a strong enough position in the market to compete with established varieties, and without regulatory intervention, change could be limited. Direct financial support for the plantation of disease-resistant varieties is also an option some authorities offer: The canton of Vaud in Switzerland, for example, has recently decided to provide winegrowers with financial support up to 30,000 CHF per ha when planting a variety of an approved list of disease-resistant or robust varieties. Such a move could become one of the strategies to accelerate broader adoption. As a low level of experience with new varieties is often an hindrance, tools or institutions providing better knowledge and experience transfer to and between winegrowers, as well as demonstration plots, might also help to raise acceptance among producers. Additionally, the consumers need to be convinced that wines of new varieties can taste as good as wines of traditional varieties, but also have the benefit of a more sustainable production. This will subsequently generate a pull for wines of disease-resistant varieties into the market. However, as wine drinkers usually exhibit very conservative buying choices, a lot of information and education of consumers is needed in order to break this pattern and develop curiosity towards new disease-resistant varieties.

<table><caption>TABLE 3 Data on the production of grafted vines in Germany and annually planted disease-resistant grapevine varieties.</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>2017</th><th>2018</th><th>2019</th><th>2020</th><th>2021</th><th>2022</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Total graftings (M)</td><td>27,4</td><td>28</td><td>23,3</td><td>22</td><td>23,3</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>Disease-resistant varieties grafted (M)</td><td>2,6</td><td>2,7</td><td>3,3</td><td>3,5</td><td>4</td><td>5,3</td></tr><tr><td>Disease-resistant graftings (%)</td><td>9,6</td><td>9,6</td><td>14,2</td><td>16</td><td>17,3</td><td>22,1</td></tr><tr><td>Disease-resistant new plantings (%)</td><td>1,8</td><td>2,7</td><td>3,4</td><td>4,4</td><td>6,6</td><td>9,5</td></tr></tbody></table>
10 | CONCLUSION

Disease-resistant grapevine varieties offer great potential to reduce the amount of pesticides used in viticulture and to fulfill the goals for pesticide reduction set by the European Commission in their Green Deal. Due to the long-lasting breeding efforts of European grapevine breeders, today's winegrowers have a wealth of disease-resistant varieties to choose from, which allow the reduction of fungicides by around 50-80% depending on the variety and environmental conditions (Eisenmann et al., 2023). However, even the most robust new varieties will not lead to a more sustainable viticulture if the market does not accept them. After years of hesitation from winegrowers and consumers, the tide seems to turn: winegrowers are aware of the reduction goals and the high-quality alternatives that disease-resistant varieties are. Additionally, the public expresses a rising demand for the sustainable production of their consumed products and puts pressure on the producers. Therefore, the interest in disease-resistant grapevine varieties and their wines grows in every step of the value chain. Together with other advances in vineyard management, prediction tools, and viticultural machinery, the reduction goals set by the Green Deal will be achievable.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

OT, RT, KA, and DM screened literature, compiled the data, and wrote the manuscript. CB screened the literature, and RE collected and supplied data on the amount of grafted vines in Germany.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This review is based on contributions to the 22nd GIESCO conference, for which extended abstracts are available (Avia et al., 2023; Trapp et al., 2023). Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Some data analyzed in this study are openly available at the German Federal Office of Statistics at https://www-genesis destatis.de/ genesis/online, reference number 41252. Other data analyzed study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

ORCID

Oliver Trapp https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6679-9631

Komlan Avia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6212-6774

Didier Merdinoglu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8568-0495

Reinhard Töpfer https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1569-2495

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## SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of this article.

**How to cite this article:** Trapp, O., Avia, K., Borrelli, C., Eibach, R., Merdinoglu, D., & Töpfer, R. (2025). More sustainability in Europe's vineyards - Using resistant grapevine varieties to reduce the input of pesticides. *Plants, People, Planet*, 7(6), 1621-1628. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70038