Commonalities between pests and air raids: Unexpected Silver Linings
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Commonalities between pests and air raids: Unexpected Silver Linings

May 5, 2023

A pest called phylloxera has caused a nightmare for European grapes. For more information, see this article.

On the other hand, phylloxera has played a role on the positive side. Today, in vineyards around the world, vines are planted in rows. The vineyards are planted with straight rows of posts, which are strung with wires. The vines are planted along these wires, and the branches and trunks are secured to the wires, shaping the vines as they grow. Before phylloxera, however, this was not the case.

Prior to phylloxera, vines were multiplied by a method known as the pruning method. The branching method is a method of increasing the number of plants by creating the illusion of a tree, causing roots to grow from the trunk and branches, and then cutting them off. It could be buried in the soil, and when the roots grew, it could be cut and divided in two,

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Before phylloxera, however, this was not the case.

Before phylloxera, grapevines were multiplied by a method called the branching method.

The branching method is a method of increasing the number of plants by creating the illusion of a tree, causing roots to grow from the trunk and branches, and then cutting them off. The tree is buried in the soil, and when the roots grow, it is cut and divided in two, or

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Another method is to cut a branch or trunk of a tree, cover it with soil, and cut it in two when roots grow out of the wound.

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Therefore, before phylloxera, it was common for grapevines and vines to be planted in a jumbled and irregular manner.

Role of Phylloxera After phylloxera, the roots of the varieties originally grown in Europe were almost completely wiped out, so most of the vines had to be replanted and grafted with American varieties that were resistant to phylloxera.For more information on grafting, please see this article.

At this time, we were able to plant the grafted seedlings freely in the new field, so we were able to plant them in an aligned manner. This allowed for the introduction of tractors, which became more widespread and increased grape productivity.

Air Raids Air raids leave towns burnt to the ground. On the other hand, it is also true that air raids left the city as if it were a vacant lot, allowing it to be rezoned from the ground up.

It is ironic that straight, easy-to-pass roads and streets were created because of air raids. The same thing happened in the vineyards.

References

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