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Around The Vineyard
WASPS and WINE:
Paper Wasps Contribute to Sour Rot Disease, a
Scourge of Wine Industry Source: Tufts University
C ome harvest season, wine makers have lus, plays a role in facilitating sour rot disease in the
grown accustomed to looking for the tell-
absence of other insects.
tale signs of a common but devastating
threat: black mold and spores combined with a dis- Published today in PeerJ, the study sought to
tinct acidic smell. These symptoms are associated expand the knowledge of the ecology of this dis-
with grape sour rot disease, an incurable condition ease, which is characterized by acetic acid bacteria,
involving the decomposition of damaged berries Ascomycota yeasts, and filamentous fungi that
that ultimately degrades wine quality, resulting in attack ripe, thin-skinned berries mostly in late sum-
millions of dollars in losses annually. mer.
New research led by Tufts University shows that “The research showed that these wasps carry the
the invasive European paper wasp, Polistes dominu- polymicrobial community of sour rot and are
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