Vine Disease on the Increase in France

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for the Nov. 30, 2008 issue

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GrapeVine

Diana Macle
Issue: November 30, 2008

In September, several hundred disgruntled winegrowers took to the streets in Auch, France, one of the main towns in Gascony, to draw attention to a fungal disease. Esca, a vine disease long a concern in France and elsewhere, has been on the rise since 2001, when sodium arsenite, the only effective treatment, was banned as a carcinogen.