CHAPTER 2
Contents 44
B.
47
References 60
Abstract
Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, Volume 59 # 2010 Elsevier Inc.
ISSN 1043-4526, DOI: 10.1016/S1043-4526(10)59002-8 All rights reserved.
Department of Toxicology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Wine quality strongly depends on the grape quality. To obtain high-
quality wines, it is necessary to process healthy grapes at the
correct ripeness stage and for this reason the farmer has to be
especially careful in the prevention of parasite attacks on the
grapevine.
B. Effect of malolactic fermentation on
pesticide residues 60
A
. Pesticide effect on lactic bacteria
59
V. M
alo
lactic Fermentation
58
p
esticide residues
57
C
. E
ffect of alcoholic fermentation on
B
. P
esticide effect on yeasts
54
A
. A
lcoholic fermentation
50
IV. F
ermentation Process
50
III. P
esticides
49
E
. V
ine and the citrus mealybugs (P. ficus and P. citri)
48
D
. G
rape moth (L. botrana)
48
C
. G
Powdery mildew (U. necator)
ray mold (B. cinerea)
47
A
. Downy mildew (P. viticola)
46
II. G
rap
evine Pathogens
45
I. In
tro
duction
Pierluigi Caboni and Paolo Cabras
Pesticides’ Influence on
Wine Fermentation
43
The most common fungal diseases affecting grape quality are
I. INTRODUCTION
The grapevine req
grapes can be cul
spheres. These zo
30� to 40� of south
The highest co
Mediterranean ba
ducing nations. In
the highest prod
most important g
nent. Recently, Au
grape-producing n
million hectares,
hectoliters. The E
which correspond
and Italy compet
constantly battled
Nevertheless, p
ing, most importa
44 Pierluigi Caboni and Paolo Cabras
uires particular climatic conditions and, for this reason,
tivated only in the temperate zones of the two hemi-
nes lie between 50� and 30� of north latitude and from
latitude (Fig. 2.1).
ncentration of grapevine cultivation is located in the
sin where France, Italy, and Spain are the largest pro-
the North America, California is the U.S. state with
uction of wine, while Chile and Argentina are the
rape-producing nations on the South American conti-
stralia and New Zealand have emerged as significant
ations. Worldwide, the grapevine is cultivated on eight
and the wine production reaches about 260 million
U possesses 64% of the total grapevine cultivation,
s to the 3/4 of the worldwide wine production. France
e for the top rank in wine production; they have
for first and second place in any given vintage-year.
er capita wine consumption is progressively diminish-
ntly in those top producing countries such as France,
downy and powdery mildew (Plasmopara viticola and Uncinula
necator), and gray mold (Botrytis cinerea). On the other hand,
the most dangerous insects are the grape moth (Lobesia botrana),
vine mealybug (Planococcus ficus), and the citrus mealybug
(Planococcus citri).
Farmers fight grape diseases and insects applying pesticides
that can be found at harvest time on grapes. The persistence of
pesticides depends on the chemical characteristic of the active
ingredients as well as on photodegradation, thermodegradation,
codistillation, and enzymatic degradation. The pesticide residues
on grapes can be transferred to the must and this can influence the
selection and development of yeast strains. Moreover, yeasts can
also influence the levels of the pesticides in the wine by reducing
or adsorbing them on lees. During the fermentative process, yeasts
can cause the disappearance of pesticide residues by degradation
or absorption at the end of the fermentation when yeasts are
deposited as lees.
In this chapter, we reviewed the effect of commonly used
herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides on yeasts. We also studied
the effect of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation on pesticide
residues.
B
Pesticides’ Influence on Wine Fermentation 45
Spain, and Italy. For example, the Italian average per capita wine con-
sumption decreased from 119.6 to 99.8 L from the beginning of the
century through 1960. After a progressive rise in wine consumption
reaching the maximum of 116 L per capita in 1968; a constant reduction
has been observed from 94.6 L in 1978, to 90.6 L in 1980, to 61.5 in 1990, to
57.6 L in 1995, to 57.2 L in 1996, and to 46.5 in 2005. In the new
wine-producing countries, such as New Zealand, individual consump-
tion continues to grow quickly (20.3 L per capita in 2005, which is a two-
FIGURE 2.1 Worldwide distribution of grape cultivation shown in dark shade.
A
fold increase in 6 years). Countries with the highest per capita wine
consumption are reported in Table 2.1.
II. GRAPEVINE PATHOGENS
There is no question that the wine quality strongly depends on the grape
quality. To obtain high-quality wines, it is necessary to use healthy grapes
at the correct ripeness stage and for this reason the farmer has to be
especially careful in the prevention of parasite attacks on the grapevine.
Many of the grapevine parasites are of animal origin (insects andmites) or
from vegetal origin (critograme or parasitic fungi). The most common
fungal diseases are downy and powdery mildew (Plasmopara viticola and
Uncinula necator), and gray mold (Botrytis cinerea). On the other hand, the
most dangerous insects are the grape moth (Lobesia botrana), vine mealy-
bug (Planococcus ficus), and the citrus mealybug (Planococcus citri).
46 Pierluigi Caboni and Paolo Cabras
A. Downy mildew (P. viticola)
The downy mildew was introduced in France from North America in
1878. It moved into Italy the following year and subsequently into the
other countries of the Mediterranean basin. Furthermore, it was intro-
duced into Australia in 1919 and into New Zealand in 1926. Today downy
TABLE 2.1 World per capita wine consumption
Countries Per capita wine consumption (L)
France 55.4
Luxembourg 54.6
Portugal 46.7
Italy 46.5
Slovenia 44.7
Croatia 40.8
Switzerland 39.3
Hungary 34.7
Greece 32.2
Spain 31.8
Austria 29.3
Denmark 28.7
Year 2005, source O.I.V.
mildew is present in all vine cultivation areas.
The downy mildew is the most prevalent form of mildew and is
usually spread by rainfall. It attacks leaves, shoots, and berries and can
quickly defoliate the vine leading to loss of the entire crop. Optimum
conditions for primary infection take place at 10:10:10, which corresponds
to at least 10 mm of rain at a temperature 10 �C or more, over 10 h. The
fungus survives in the form of spores for 3–5 years in old, infected leaf
material that is remaining in the soil and, with rain, is splashed onto the
foliage. If the spores remain wet long enough, the disease begins to
develop. This shows up as ‘‘oil spots’’ on leaves. Spores form under the
oil spot and show up as a ‘‘white down.’’ If conditions are right, second-
ary infection occurs from these spores and the spread of the disease
becomes quite rapid.
Downy mildew can be controlled by the spray application of various
chemicals either as preinfection or postinfection treatments. There are two
groups of spray chemicals, those with single site activity which act on
only one site within the fungus organism or those with multisite activity,
which act on more than one site within the fungus. The most used
multisite chemicals for the preventive control of downy mildew are
Pesticides’ Influence on Wine Fermentation 47
copper salts such as copper oxychloride. In the past several years, the
overuse of chemicals has lead to small mutational changes within the
fungus, which in turn can lead to the fungus being resistant.
At present, many of the nonsystemic active ingredients against downy
mildew such as metiram, mancozeb, folpet, tolylfluanide are commonly
used. On the other hand, the systemic fungicides in current use are
cymoxanyl, dimethomorf, famoxadone, fenamidone, zoxamide, meta-
laxil-m, iprovalicarb, and strobirulines (azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin).
B. Powdery mildew (U. necator)
The powdery mildew is a pathogen that was brought into England from
North America in 1845. Subsequently, powdery mildew was introduced
into France in 1847, Belgium in 1848, and finally Italy in 1849. By 1853, it
was discovered, in France, that vine treatments with sulfur were able to
control this pathogen.
Powdery mildew attacks leaves, shoots, and bunches. It is evidenced
by an ash gray to white powdery growth on both the upper and lower
surfaces of the leaves. Moreover, the disease attacks the bunches with the
same ash gray/white powder showing up on the berries and stalks. Other
than crop losses, the most negative aspect is that the disease causes off
flavors in wine production.
Powdery mildew spores hide in the buds of dormant vines. Mild
cloudy weather and low light in the canopy encourage development of
this disease.
There are no approved fungicides for postinfection treatments that
make the application of a protective spray from budburst necessary.
There are multiple chemicals from both the singlesite and multisite
groups. In Italy, the relatively safe and multisite active wettable sulfur is
utilized. Other than sulfur, many active ingredients such as dinocap, fungi-
cides, QoI-STAR derived from strobilurins (azoxystrobin, kresoxy-methyl,
trifloxystrobin), quinoxyfen and IBS (inhibitors of sterol biosynthesis)
such as fenarimol, triadimenol, penconazole, myclobutanil, fenbuconazole,
hexaconazole, fusilazole, tetraconazole, and tebuconazole are used. Other
active ingredients used are proquinazid and spiroxamine.
C. Gray mold (B. cinerea)
Gray mold is a common bunch rot in regions with warm, wet conditions.
In addition to the fruit, it can also attack shoots and leaves. It causes
large crop losses while infected grapes can cause off flavors in the wine.
It should bementioned here that not all botrytis infections are unfavorable.
Under specific conditions, the fungus takes hold and dehydrates the
bunches increasing the sugar content without causing rot. This enables
very sweet dessert wines with their traditional marmalade favor caused
There are virtually no curative sprays, and it is essential that a protective
almost ripe fruits and various molds, in particular Botrytis, develop very
48 Pierluigi Caboni and Paolo Cabras
rapidly on thewounds; the attacked fruits turn brown at the place of attack
and begin to rot. The presence of larvae and rotten fruits lowers the quality
of the crop; molds render wine making difficult and may require the crop
to be harvested prematurely. The following pesticides are commonly used
to control the grape moth: pyrethroids (cypermethrin and deltamethrin),
organophosphorus (chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl), nicotinoids (imi-
dacloprid), oxadiazine insecticides (indoxacarb), chitin synthesis inhibitor
insecticides (flufenoxuron, lufenuron), and moulting hormone agonists
(tebufenozide).
E. Vine and the citrus mealybugs (P. ficus and P. citri)
The two insects, morphologically similar, are the vine mealybug (P. ficus),
and the citrus mealybug (P. citri). They are currently the most economi-
cally important pseudococcids in vineyards in Italy. All life stages of vine
mealybug are found throughout the vine, including on the roots, under
spray is applied at very definite times of bunch development. Applications
are commonly at 80% capfall (toward the end of flowering) and again just
before bunch closure (just before the berries have stopped growing and
become ‘‘squished’’ together in the bunch). Chlorothalonil is commonly
used for this purpose. This chemical is also a protectant against downy
mildew so it can replace the copper. Pesticides used to control botrytis are
the following: dicarboxymides (iprodione, procymidone, and vinclozonil),
new generation products such as pyrimethanil, mepanypirim, fenhexamid,
ciprodinil þ fludioxonil, and fluazinam.
D. Grape moth (L. botrana)
The life cycle of L. botrana can allow 3–4 generations depending on geo-
graphical and environmental variability and whether the summer has
been hot. The moths first appear at the end of April when the vine has 3
or 4 leaves and they emerge at intervals and the flights spread over
2–3weeks. The caterpillar finishes its development at the time of flowering
and then it pupates. The second flight takes place toward the end of June
and into July; then the caterpillars pupate again and the third flight occurs
between mid-August and the end of September. The caterpillars gnaw the
by the action of fungal enzymes (e.g., Sauterne in France or in Australia).
The disease in this case is known as noble rot. The disease hides in
decaying plant debris such as dead canes and mummified fruit. Spores
are spread by wind and find a place in the developing bunch flowers. If
the ‘‘closed’’ bunch coincides with wet weather and high humidity, the
disease spreads rapidly.
sap as it dries. In addition, a fungus called ‘‘sooty mold’’ grows on the
honeydew. This black fungus covers the grape leaves interfering with
Pesticides’ Influence on Wine Fermentation 49
photosynthesis and fouling the grape bunches. The vine mealybug is
known to transmit leaf roll virus in grapes. This same behavior is exhib-
ited in P. citri.
Generally, the chemical control is done in the spring time to coincide
with the emerging of nymphs from winter sites using mineral oil or
calcium polysulfur. Chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, imidacloprid,
methomyl, buprofezin, and dimethoate can be used as alternatives.
III. PESTICIDES
Before entering the market, pesticides need to be registered. Starting in
2008, pesticide registration has been done by the EU and not by individual
countries. The registration process for each pesticide set requires the
authorized culture, the dose, preharvest interval, and the maximum resi-
due limit (MRL). The legal limit of the residue does not coincide with the
toxicological limit and for this reason still if the legal limit is exceeded it
will not pose a serious risk to human health. The legal limit is determined
from toxicological data establishing a lack of risk to human health (NOEL
¼ no observed effect level) commonly corrected by a safety factor of 100.
Field residues of pesticides are affected by the environmental conditions
(temperature, wind, rain, solar irradiance, etc.). Field residues, if below
the corrected acceptable daily intake, are used to set the legal limit of the
pesticide residue. Residues limits can vary between countries because of
the different climatic conditions, leading to EU trade difficulties.
the bark on the trunk and cordons, on canes, and leaves. There is no
overwintering stage, rather all life stages can be found throughout the
year. There are usually 3–7 generations per year. During the winter
months, eggs, nymphs, and adults can be found under the bark, within
developing buds, and on the roots as well. As temperatures warm in the
spring, the density of vine mealybug increases, and the mealybugs move
out to the cordons and aerial parts of the vine. Vine mealybug can be
found on all parts of the vine including leaves and clusters by late spring
and summer. Shortly after harvest, the density of vine mealybug declines.
This generalized biology fits most vine mealybug populations; however,
it varies slightly with location and cultivar.
At high densities, the vine mealybugs can reduce plant vigor by
removing large amounts of sap, which carries the nutrients to the grape
roots and growing tissues including the grape bunches. The vine mealy-
bugs excrete large amounts of fluids that have high concentrations of
sugars. This ‘‘honeydew’’ can foul the grapevine with a layer of sticky
over, yeasts can also influence the levels of the pesticides in the wine by
fermentation step (malolactic fermentation), which corresponds to the
transformation of L-malic acid to L-lactic acid.
50 Pierluigi Caboni and Paolo Cabras
A. Alcoholic fermentation
In winemaking, the fermentative process may take place due to ambient
yeasts that are naturally present in wine cellars, vineyards and on the
grapes themselves (sometimes known as a grape’s ‘‘bloom’’). Otherwise,
it can be conducted using cultured yeast which are specifically isolated
and inoculated for use in winemaking. Yeasts responsible for alcoholic
fermentation belong to the genus Saccharomyces spp. However, other
yeasts, especially non-Saccharomyces yeasts are present in the initial stages
of the fermentation process and may have an influence on the final
organoleptic properties of the wine (Pretorius et al., 1999). These genera
include Candida, Klo¨ckera/Hanseniaspora, Pichia, and Zygosaccharomyces.
These yeasts grow to about 106, 107 cfu/mL but, by midfermentation
begin to decline and die off. At this time, Saccharomyces cerevisiae becomes
predominant (107, 108 cfu/mL) and continues the fermentation until its
completion. Evidence exists that non-Saccharomyces yeasts may influence
the unique oenological characteristics of each wine-producing zone, while
reducing or adsorbing them on lees (Cabras et al., 1987).
IV. FERMENTATION PROCESS
In the fermentative process, the first step is due to yeasts which transform
sugars to alcohol (alcoholic fermentation). This is followed by a second
Currently the EU is working for the harmonization of the MRLs of
pesticides. In Italy, pesticides currently registered for use on grapes are
listed in Table 2.2. Italy is one of the few countries with legal limits also set
on wine (Table 2.3). In other countries, where there is a lack of a legal limit
for processed foods, the amount of the raw food corresponding to pro-
cessed food unit (e.g., 1.5 kg of grapes for 1 L of wine), and the incidence
of technological process should be taken into account. Since each active
ingredient has its particular behavior, residue changes during the trans-
formation process should be determined. In the absence of these data, the
unique and safe reference is the MRL of the primary food.
Different levels of pesticides can be found at harvest on grapes
depending on the chemical characteristic of the active ingredients. More-
over, the persistence of pesticides can depend on photodegradation,
thermodegradation, codistillation, and enzymatic degradation.
The pesticide residues on grapes can be transferred to the must and
this can influence the selection and development of yeast strains. More-
TABLE 2.2 Pesticides registered on grapes in Italy
Pesticide MRL (mg/kg) Pesticide MRL (mg/kg) Pesticide MRL (mg/kg)
Abamectin 0.01 Esfenvalerate 0.1 Methoxyfenozide 1
Acrinathrin 0.1 Ethephon 0.1 Metiram 2
Alcalines solphites 10 Etofenprox 0.05 Myclobutanil 1
Alphamethrin 0.3 Etoxazole 1 Oxadiazon 0.05
Azadirachtin 0.5 Famoxadone 0.02 Oxyfluorfen 0.05
Azinphos-methyl 1 Fenamidone 2 Paraquat 0.05
Azociclotin 0.3 Fenamiphos 0.5 Penconazole 0.2
Azoxystrobin 2 Fenarimol 0.02 Phosalone 1
Benalaxyl 0.2 Fenazaquin 0.3 Phosetyl-al 2
Benfuracarb 0.05 Fenbuconazole 0.2 Piperonyl butoxide 3
Bifenthrin 0.2 Fenbutatin oxide 0.2 Pirimicarb 0.2
Bifentrin 0.2 Fenhexamid 2 Pirimiphos-methyl 2
Bromopropylate 2 Fenoxycarb 0.5 Procymidone 5
Bromuconazole 0.5 Fenpropidin 0.2 Propargite 2
Buprofezin 1 Fenpropimorph 2 Propiconazole 0.5
Calcium
polysulfide
50 Fenpyroximate 0.05 Propineb 2
Captan 10 Flazasulfuron 0.3 Propyzamide 0.02
Carbaryl 3 Fluazifop-p-butyl 0.01 Pyraclostrobin 2
Carbendazim 2 Fluazinam 0.1 Pyrethrins 1
Chloropicrin 0.05 Fludioxonil 1 Pyridaben 0.1
Chlorothalonil 3 Fludioxonil 2 Pyrimethanil 3
Chlorpropham 0.05 Flufenoxuron 2 Quinoxyfen 0.5
(continued)
TABLE 2.2 (continued )
Pesticide MRL (mg/kg) Pesticide MRL (mg/kg) Pesticide MRL (mg/kg)
Chlorpyrifos 0.5 Flusilazole 0.1 Rotenone 0.05
Chlorpyrifos-methyl 0.2 Fluvalinate 0.01 Spinosad 0.2
Clofentezine 1 Folpet 0.5 Spiroxamine 1
Cyanamide 0.05 Glufosinate ammonium 10 Sulfur 50
Cyazofamid 1 Glyphosate 0.1 Tebuconazole 1
Cycloxidim 0.1 Glyphosate trimesium 0.1 Tebufenozide 0.5
Cyfluthrin 0.3 Hexaconazole 0.1 Tebufenpyrad 0.3
Cyhexatin 0.3 Hexythiazox 0.5 Teflubenzuron 1
Cymoxanil 0.1 Indoxacarb 0.5 Tetraconazole 0.5
Cypermethrin 0.5 Ip