Study Finds 51% of French Winegrowers Use Biocontrol Against Diseases

Alliance Biocontrôle, an industry group for biocontrol companies, published a study on Tuesday, November 3, indicating that biocontrol is gaining ground in French vineyards and orchards.

According to a sector survey cited in the study, 51% of the winegrowers surveyed said they use biocontrol against diseases, while 32% said they use it against pests. The figures exclude copper and sulfur. In its brief report on the study, Agra said the results point to a rising adoption rate in perennial crops, including vineyards and orchards.

The findings add a new data point to a closely watched shift in French agriculture, where growers are under pressure to protect crops while reducing reliance on some conventional chemical tools. Biocontrol generally refers to crop protection methods based on natural substances, living organisms, or other biological mechanisms. In vineyards, that can involve products or approaches used either in place of, or alongside, more traditional treatments.

The study’s headline result is significant for France’s wine sector because it offers a measure of how far alternative plant-protection tools have moved into commercial vineyard practice. That matters beyond the farm gate. A broader move toward biocontrol could influence supplier strategies, product development, and the technical advice given to grape growers. It could also help guide investment decisions in vineyard protection at a time when wineries and growers are looking for ways to manage disease and pest pressure without disrupting production.

The Agra summary did not provide the survey’s sample size, the profile of respondents, or a detailed regional breakdown. It also did not give separate figures for orchards in the material available. Still, the vineyard data suggest that biocontrol is no longer confined to trial plots or niche growers in France. With more than half of surveyed winegrowers reporting use against diseases, adoption appears to have reached a scale that is relevant for input manufacturers, advisers, cooperatives, and wine producers.

The difference between disease control and pest control in the survey figures may also be notable. The 51% rate for disease management is well above the 32% rate for pest management, suggesting that use may be more established for some vineyard health problems than for others. The summary released through Agra did not explain the gap, and it did not specify which diseases or pests were included in the responses.

Copper and sulfur were excluded from the figures, an important point in interpreting the results. Both have long been part of vineyard protection programs, especially in fungal disease control, and their inclusion could have changed the picture substantially. By leaving them out, the survey appears to focus more narrowly on other biocontrol products and practices now being adopted in the field.

France is one of the world’s leading wine-producing countries, so changes in vineyard treatment practices there are closely followed across the beverage industry. If biocontrol continues to expand, suppliers to the wine sector may face growing demand for alternative crop-protection solutions, and growers may need more specialized support on how to integrate those tools into existing vineyard programs.

Alliance Biocontrôle said the study examined deployment in both vineyards and orchards, framing the trend as a broader rise in perennial crops rather than an isolated development in winegrowing alone. The short report carried by Agra did not include the full study text or additional methodological detail.