Effects of Xylotrechus arvicola (Olivier, 1795) infestation on some parameters of grapevine production in Spain

The wood borer Xylotrechus arvicola has recently become a pest of vineyards in most of the productive winegrowing areas of Spain. The activity of its larvae has important consequences on grapevine production. Different production parameters such as bunch length and weight, number of flowers, wood weight, leaf pigments and Baumé degree of the must were registered in Viura and Tempranillo varieties in La Rioja, separating X. arvicola affected and not affected branches on the individual plants. All the considered parameters were influenced by the wood borer activity, except the Baumé degree. Important differences detected in some of the parameters, indicate that Viura cultivar is more damaged than Tempranillo, despite the fact that the last one shows a higher attack by the borer in the field. Considering the increasing infestation by X. arvicola in Spanish grape production areas, our findings allowed to understand the borer action on the plants and indicated that Tempranillo has a higher tolerance to the attack of this borer, with possible consequences in orienting the choices of varieties for winemaking.