Past and future of sustainable viticulture in Switzerland

Abstract

Switzerland is a pioneer country in the development of integrated production (IP) and integrated pest management (IPM). The overall goal is sustainability at the ecological, economic and social level to produce high quality grapes. In 1993, the IP-IPM head-organisation VITISWISS was created. The starting points were the improvement of pest management by the biocontrol of spider mites and the control of grape berry moths by mating disruption and an optimal soil management, followed over the years by state-of-the-art sprayer calibration, development of disease forecasting models (AgroMeteo, VitiMeteo), leaf-area adapted dosage of plant protection products, enhanced biodiversity, water and cover crop management. The efforts and the results gained in a continuous education process by the growers are considerable, but not enough for consumers and politics concerned by the use of plant protection products. The absence of acaricides and insecticides as well as forecasting systems available on the internet (www.agrometeo.ch) for the control of downy and powdery mildew, represent the major progresses. Where mechanisation is possible, herbicides can progressively be replaced by mechanical technics, which is not possible in steep vineyards. The general irrational unscientific trend against “synthetic” plant protection products requests alternatives for the control of fungal diseases and for cover crop management under the vine rows to avoid excessive water-nitrogen competition particularly in the actual context of climate change.