Knowledge

Here you can learn more about the grapevine disease ESCA, its symptoms, stages and possibilities for early detection and control.

Knowledge

Here you can learn more about the grapevine disease ESCA, its symptoms, stages and possibilities for early detection and control.

Knowledge

Here you can learn more about the grapevine disease ESCA, its symptoms, stages and possibilities for early detection and control.

ESCA symptoms

Affected plants initially show dark vascular discoloration inside the plant (C) and clogging of the conduits (tyloses, D). In later stages, leaf symptoms become visible by the formation of orange-brown tiger stripes (A) and the formation of black spots on the racemes (B). In later stages, partial or complete death of the infected plants occurs.

Figure: Esca complex symptoms: A) Leaf symptoms (tiger stripes). B) Black spots on infected grapes (black measles). C) Cross-section of a vine infected with Esca: vascular discoloration together with black spots and incipient white rot. D) Blockage of the vascular system due to the formation of tyloses (red circle).

Esca symptons

R&D

Against the background of massive Esca outbreaks in recent years, LigniLabs has developed special microcarriers with the ESCApe technology, which are able to encapsulate active ingredients effective against ESCA and make them directly applicable in the plant to make the ESCA disease effectively controllable for the first time.

Our microcarriers in the ESCApe product are made of lignin, a biobased and biodegradable raw material that is the main component of wood along with cellulose. The transport vehicles prepared in this way are loaded with fungicides and injected directly into the stem of the plants. Since ESCA fungi degrade the lignin of our microcarriers and simultaneously release the active ingredient, they can be effectively controlled directly on site. This highly selective release mechanism controls fungal infestations on the spot and with maximum efficiency. Our ESCApe product thus offers the possibility of achieving both curative and protective long-term treatment of Esca disease with a single application. The quantities of fungicide required are reduced to a minimum and product application is safe for users and the environment.

How does ESCApe work?

ESCA

Esca has become one of the most contagious and feared vine wood diseases worldwide, threatening viticulture to a similar extent as phylloxera at the beginning of the 20th century. Esca is a complex of different fungal pathogens that spread inside the vine and lead to blockage of the conductive pathways and eventually to decay of the vine wood (white rot). Due to the brittleness and easy combustibility of the infected vine wood, the name "Esca", Latin for "tinder", was derived for the disease. Once a plant is infected with Esca, there is still no crop protection product that can cure the disease. Conventional sprays with fungicides are ineffective because the pathogens inside the plant are not reached. Ultimately, affected vintners must remove all infested vines from the vineyard and replant them.

F&E

Against the background of massive Esca outbreaks in recent years, LigniLabs has developed special microcarriers with the ESCApe technology, which are able to encapsulate active ingredients effective against ESCA and make them directly applicable in the plant to make the ESCA disease effectively controllable for the first time.

Our microcarriers in the ESCApe product are made of lignin, a biobased and biodegradable raw material that is the main component of wood along with cellulose. The transport vehicles prepared in this way are loaded with fungicides and injected directly into the stem of the plants. Since ESCA fungi degrade the lignin of our microcarriers and simultaneously release the active ingredient, they can be effectively controlled directly on site. This highly selective release mechanism controls fungal infestations on the spot and with maximum efficiency. Our ESCApe product thus offers the possibility of achieving both curative and protective long-term treatment of Esca disease with a single application. The quantities of fungicide required are reduced to a minimum and product application is safe for users and the environment.

ESCA

Esca hat sich weltweit zu einer der ansteckendsten und gefürchtetsten Rebholzkrankheiten entwickelt und bedroht den Weinbau in ähnlichem Maße wie die Reblaus zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. Esca ist ein Komplex verschiedener pilzlicher Krankheitserreger, die sich im Inneren der Rebe ausbreiten und zur Verstopfung der Leitungsbahnen und schließlich zum Zerfall des Rebholzes (Weißfäule) führen. Aufgrund der Sprödigkeit und leichten Brennbarkeit des befallenen Rebholzes wurde der Name “Esca”, lateinisch für “Zunder”, für die Krankheit abgeleitet. Ist eine Pflanze erst einmal mit Esca infiziert, gibt es noch kein Pflanzenschutzmittel, das die Krankheit heilen könnte. Konventionelle Spritzungen mit Fungiziden sind unwirksam, da die Erreger im Inneren der Pflanze nicht erreicht werden. Letztlich müssen die betroffenen Winzer alle befallenen Rebstöcke aus dem Weinberg entfernen und neu anpflanzen.

How it works/what is
nanotechnology

Against the background of massive Esca outbreaks in recent years, LigniLabs has developed special microcarriers with the ESCApe technology, which are able to encapsulate active substances effective against ESCA and make them directly applicable in the plant in order to make the ESCA disease effectively controllable for the first time.

1.

A small hole is drilled into the stem of the vine for the application of the active ingredient-loaded microcarriers.

2.

In the second step, 0.8 ml of the microcarrier suspension is applied into the previously drilled hole in the stem of the grapevine.

3.

Finally, the hole filled with microcarrier suspension is sealed with a wooden pin.

4.

After microcarrier application, they are distributed via the xylem with the sap flow in the plant and can release their active ingredient in the presence of pests. The microcarriers are only distributed in the plant and do not enter the crop.

5.

The microcarriers remain in the plant for several growing seasons and protect it. First positive effects can be observed after application in the following vegetation periods. A new application should be carried out after 3 - 5 years.

How long it takes.

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See how it is
applied

Research

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Researcher

Justin Grabow

 Doctoral Candidate at University of Twente

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Protection of the wine and its cultural landscape

Due to climate change, the ecological balance of nature is becoming increasingly unbalanced. Droughts, heavy rainfall and extreme weather phenomena not only increase the dangers for humans, but the plant world is also increasingly threatened. One example of this is ESCA, a fungal infection disease of grapevines originating in the Mediterranean region, which poses an increasing threat to domestic viticulture and the winegrowing landscape. Until now, ESCA has been considered incurable, but we have set ourselves the goal of making fungal diseases such as ESCA in woody plants curable for the first time with our novel solutions, technologies and products. In this way, we not only want to counteract climate change and its effects, but also actively protect the native flora and cultivated landscape.

ESCApe. vs. conventional sprays!

Our micro-carriers in the ESCApe product are made from lignin, a bio-based and biodegradable raw material that, together with cellulose, forms the main component of wood. The carriers, made from lignin based on our platform technology, are loaded with fungicides and injected directly into the stem of the plants. As the ESCA pathogens degrade the lignin in grapevines and thus also degrade our loaded micro-carriers, the active ingredient contained in them is released directly at the pest and can effectively combat it for the first time. This highly selective release mechanism, which is similar to the principle of a "Trojan horse", enables ESCA to be combated with maximum efficiency and effectiveness for the first time. 

Our product ESCApe thus offers the possibility of achieving both a curative effect in the diseased plant and protective long-term protection in the plant against ESCA with a single application. The quantities of fungicide required are reduced to the minimum necessary and the product application has a very high level of user and environmental safety.

To date, there are no comparable registered crop protection products that provide a similar mechanism or can cure plants already suffering from ESCA.

80%

success rate

conventional sprays

0%

effectiveness against ESCA

3 - 5 years
protection

Only protection during the year if possible

Advantages

The application of ESCApe can not only protect grapevines threatened by ESCA from ESCA infection, but can also cure already diseased plants up to a certain stage of disease from ESCA. Die wirtschaftlichen Vorteile, die hierbei entstehen, sind vielfältig. Durch die neuartigen Eigenschaften von ESCApe können hochwertige Ertragsanlagen präventiv geschützt und das Infektionsrisiko für ESCA verringert oder bereits infizierte Pflanzen kurativ behandelt werden. Dem Anwender ist es hierbei selbst überlassen, welche Pflanzen er behandeln möchte und, ob er eine Spot-, Individual-, oder Großflächenanwendung durchführen möchte.  In allen Fällen kann das Pflanzenausfallrisiko durch ESCA substantiell verringert, Ertragsanlagen erhalten und der Pflanzenschutzmitteleinsatz individuell bestimmt werden.

Risk reduction and preservation of yields

ESCApe is characterized by its special form of application. The product is not sprayed over a large area like conventional crop protection products, but is injected directly into the trunk of the vines by an applicator. Direct injection ensures a particularly high level of user and environmental safety. Our technology also ensures that the fungicidal active ingredient in the ESCApe product is firmly encapsulated in lignin, which is why it does not come into direct contact with the environment and remains encapsulated in the plant until a pest degrades the lignin capsule with its enzymes.

0%

Environmental pollution

Targeted application by injection

ESCApe is characterized by its special form of application. You do not spray ESCApe over a large area like conventional crop protection products, but it is injected directly into the trunk of the vines by an applicator. Direct injection ensures a particularly high level of user and environmental safety. Our technology also ensures that the fungicidal active ingredient in the ESCApe product is firmly encapsulated in lignin, which is why it does not come into direct contact with the environment and remains encapsulated in the plant until a pest degrades the lignin capsule with its enzymes. 

0%

Residues

no residues in the crop

ESCApe is characterized by its special form of application. You do not spray ESCApe over a large area like conventional crop protection products, but it is injected directly into the trunk of the vines by an applicator. Direct injection ensures a particularly high level of user and environmental safety. Our technology also ensures that the fungicidal active ingredient in the ESCApe product is firmly encapsulated in lignin, which is why it does not come into direct contact with the environment and remains encapsulated in the plant until a pest degrades the lignin capsule with its enzymes. 

0%

Residues

no residues in the crop

Advantages

The application of ESCApe can not only protect grapevines threatened by ESCA from ESCA infection, but can also cure already diseased plants up to a certain stage of disease from ESCA. The economic benefits that arise here are manifold. Thanks to the novel properties of ESCApe, high-value yield plants can be protected preventively and the risk of ESCA infection can be reduced or already infected plants can be treated curatively. It is up to the user to decide which plants he wants to treat and whether he wants to carry out a spot, individual or large-scale application. In all cases, the risk of plant failure due to ESCA can be substantially reduced, yield plants can be maintained and the use of plant protection products can be individually determined.

Risk reduction and preservation of yields

ESCApe is characterized by its special form of application. The product is not sprayed over a large area like conventional crop protection products, but is injected directly into the trunk of the vines by an applicator. Direct injection ensures a particularly high level of user and environmental safety. Our technology also ensures that the fungicidal active ingredient in the ESCApe product is firmly encapsulated in lignin, which is why it does not come into direct contact with the environment and remains encapsulated in the plant until a pest degrades the lignin capsule with its enzymes.

0%​

Environmental pollution

Targeted application
by injection

ESCApe is characterized by its special form of application. You do not spray ESCApe over a large area like conventional crop protection products, but it is injected directly into the trunk of the vines by an applicator. Direct injection ensures a particularly high level of user and environmental safety. Our technology also ensures that the fungicidal active ingredient in the ESCApe product is firmly encapsulated in lignin, which is why it does not come into direct contact with the environment and remains encapsulated in the plant until a pest degrades the lignin capsule with its enzymes. 

0%

Residues

no residues in the crop

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Alaxender Throm

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Reviews

Alaxender Throm

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5/5
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Alaxender Throm

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5/5
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Alaxender Throm

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