UMR SAVE: Vineyard Health & Agroecology

SAVE (Vineyard Health & Agroecology) is a Joint Research Unit (UMR) of INRA and the Agronomical School of Bordeaux (ENITA). The unit is comprised of 38 permanent staff including 8 scientists and 8 phD thesis students and postdocs. SAVE activities are dedicated to grape protection, especially from pests, pathogens and pathogen vectors. The unit comprises of plant-pathologists, entomologists, population geneticists, epidemiologists and microbial ecologists. The research conducted by SAVE aims at decreasing the environmental impact of viticulture by improving the sustainability of vineyards. The basic research objectives are to gain knowledge (i) into the dynamics and evolution of pathogen and pests populations interacting with grapevines, (ii) into the modification of grapevine species resulting from changes in management practices (pesticide reduction, climatic change, emergence of invasive species).

Contribution to LabEx

SAVE aims to undertake novel and performance based research on the ecology of pests and pathogens in the context of agro-ecosystem practices. Within this LabEx project, SAVE will focus on ecological consequences of biological invasions in vineyards, in particular by measuring and modelling effects of emergent diseases on vineyards’ ecosystems. It will also focus on how biological/gene flows occur and evolve in time in vineyards, with regard to climatic change and new agricultural practices. UMR Vineyard Health & Agroecology will study pest/pathogen flows at vineyard and other ecosystems (e.g. forests) boundaries.