Wine grapes infected by Flavescence dorée, showing brown, shrivelled fruits. The discovery of the disease Bois noir in a South Okanagan vineyard late in 2006 was a wake-up call for British Columbia grape growers of the need for vigilance against a host of new diseases. During the B.C. Wine Institute’s annual viticulture conference in Penticton last summer, Dr. Chrystel Olivier of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Saskatoon Research Centre told growers that Bois noir and other diseases known generally as “grapevine yellows” could give them the blues if they become established in the region. Vineyards around the world have reported grapevine […]