Combating downy mildew in vines: Trials show the effectiveness of the biocontrol product AXPERA on downy mildew in vines under difficult conditions in 2024

Amoéba (FR0011051598 - ALMIB ), an industrial greentech specialising in the development of natural microbiological solutions based on the patented use of amoebae, announces that this summer, in partnership with IFV+, it successfully carried out a trial on downy mildew in vines. The study, carried out in the vineyards of south-west France, assessed the promising effectiveness of AXPERA, a new amoeba lysate-based biofungicide expected to be approved in France in late 2025/early 2026, in combating this fungal disease dreaded by winegrowers.

After the first very interesting results observed by IFV with AXPERA used alone throughout the season during the 3 years of trials of the European Novaterra project, a new stage was reached in 2024 with this trial of practical value. Carried out on the Mauzac grape variety, specific to the Gaillac appellation (Tarn) and using a rigorous test protocol, its aim is to assess the performance of AXPERA in combination with a reduced dose of copper. The results showed that in the extremely difficult conditions of the year, where bunches were almost totally destroyed in the untreated control (95% of bunches were affected and on average 80% destroyed), the combination of AXPERA + 1 reduced dose of copper reduced symptoms by 57.7%. The classic copper-based programme achieved a reduction of only 37.5%.

This field trial highlights the high potential for integrating AXPERA into adapted programmes, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional phytosanitary treatments and enabling a very significant reduction in the use of copper. IFV+ and Amoéba plan to continue their research to refine the integration of AXPERA into programmes to combat downy mildew in different climatic conditions and French wine-growing regions.

Downy mildew, caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola, represents a major threat to French wine production, causing significant economic losses. The 2024 vintage proved once again to be highly favourable to downy mildew in the vineyards of the south-west. Right from the start of the season, conditions were ripe for early development: frequent rainy spells, long periods of humidity and favourable temperatures. In the trial area, rainfall was +147 mm above normal, i.e. +80%.

"In these difficult conditions for contact products and biocontrol products, the combination of AXPERA and a copper-based product provides a gain in protection on leaves and bunches, offering even better protection with a reduced dose of copper compared with the " normal " copper dose. The gain in protection is even greater on bunches than on leaves, which is not often the case with biocontrol products. These are very encouraging results for the fight against mildew," confirms Eric Chantelot, IFV+ manager and Ecophyto expert.

"This success demonstrates once again that our AXPERA biofungicide represents a major advance in vineyard protection in France and Europe, including in a year with high downy mildew pressure such as 2024", says Jean-François Doucet, CEO of Amoéba. "In order to meet winegrowers' expectations as quickly as possible, we now expect AXPERA to be approved rapidly at French and European level."