Great French Wine Blight
The actual genus of the insect is still debated, although it is largely considered to have been a species of Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, commonly known as grape phylloxera.
Eventually, following Jules-Émile Planchon's discovery of the Phylloxera as the cause of the blight,[2] and Charles Valentine Riley's confirmation of Planchon's theory, Leo Laliman and Gaston Bazille [fr], two French wine growers, proposed that the European vines be grafted to the resistant American rootstock that were not susceptible to the Phylloxera.
The "Reconstitution" (as it was termed) of the many vineyards that had been lost was a slow process, but eventually the wine industry in France was able to return to relative normality.
The aphid that was the central source of the damage in France was first noted following the growing of the European vine Vitis vinifera by French colonists in Florida,[3] in the 16th century.
[3] The aphids initially went unnoticed by the colonists, despite their great numbers, and the pressure to successfully start a vineyard in America at the time.
There have been several theories proposed for why the phylloxera was ignored as the possible cause of the disease that resulted in the failure of so many vineyards, most of which involve the feeding behaviour of the insect, and the way it attacks the roots.
As the toxin from the venom corrodes the root structure of a vine, the sap pressure falls and, as a result, the Phylloxera quickly withdraws its feeding tube and searches for another source of food.
[9][11] The wine makers there did not notice the aphids, just as the French colonists in America had not, but they noted the mysterious blight that was damaging their vines.
The French economy was badly hit by the blight: many businesses were lost, and wages in the wine industry were cut to less than half.
The production of cheap raisins and sugar wines caused the domestic industry several problems that threatened to persist even after the blight itself.
[4] Research into the cause of the disease began in 1868, when grape growers in Roquemaure, near Pujaut, asked the agricultural society in Montpellier for help.
[23] (Leo Laliman had suggested importing American vines as early as 1869, but French farmers were reluctant to abandon their traditional varieties.
In desperation, some growers positioned toads under each vine, and others allowed their poultry to roam free in the hope they would eat the insects.
After Charles Valentine Riley, Missouri's state entomologist, confirmed Planchon's theory, Leo Laliman and Gaston Bazille [fr], two French wine growers, both suggested the possibility that if vinifera vines could be combined, by means of grafting, with the aphid-resistant American vines, then the problem might be solved.
In 1893, for his contribution to the grape and wine industries of France, Jaeger was awarded the French Legion of Honor - Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
The cure for the disease caused a great division in the wine industry: some, who became known as the "chemists", rejected the grafting solution and persisted with the use of pesticides and chemicals.
Having reportedly been the first to suggest the possibility of using the resistant American rootstock, Leo Laliman tried to claim the money, but the French government refused to award it, with the rationale that he had not cured the blight, but rather stopped it from occurring.
