Principles of arthropod pest management in vineyards

Abstract

The first appearance of Vitis vinifera L. has been dated to between 130 and 200 million years ago, with the human relationship to this plant dating from the Neolithic period. Wild grapes were harvested by foragers and early farmers. For thousands of years, the berry has been harvested for both medicinal and nutritional value and its history is intimately entwined with the history of wine. Domestication of the Eurasian grape (V. vinifera ssp. sativa Hegi) from its wild ancestor (V. vinifera L. ssp. sylvestris (C. C. Gmelin) Hegi) occurred in Transcaucasia where the greatest genetic diversity is found today. Other evidence based on the study of chloroplast DNA polymorphisms indicates there has also been early domestication in the Iberian Peninsula (Arroyo-Garca et al. 2006).