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International audience; Fungal species involved in Esca cause the formation of grapevine wood necroses. It results in the deterioration of vascular network transport capacity and the disturbance of the physiological processes, leading to gradual or sudden grapevine death. Herein, for two consecutive growing seasons, a detailed analysis of the structural (wood necrosis and leaf discoloration) and physiological parameters related to the water use of healthy and esca-symptomatic grapevines was conducted. Measurements were carried out on 17-year-old grapevines that expressed, or not, Esca-leaf symptoms in a vineyard of the Bordeaux region (France). Whole-plant transpiration was recorded continuously from pre-veraison to harvest, using noninvasive sap flow sensors. Whole-plant transpiration was systematically about 40–50% lower in Esca-diseased grapevines compared with controls, and this difference can be observed around 2 weeks before the first Esca-foliar symptoms appeared in the vineyard. Unlike grapevine sap flow disruption, structural (e.g., leaf discolorations), functional (e.g., stomatal conductance, photosynthetic activity, phenolic compounds), and genetic (e.g., expression of leaf-targeted genes) plant responses were only significantly impacted by Esca at the onset and during leaf symptoms development. We conclude that sap flow dynamic, which was related to a high level of a white-rot necrosis, provides a useful tool to predict plant disorders due to Esca-grapevine disease.

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) represent one of the most important problems for viticulture worldwide. Beyond the original causes of this outbreak in some countries like France, the lack of efficient control protocols and the prohibition of using active ingredients such as sodium arsenite and benzimidazoles, until recently used to reduce the impact of some GTDs but deleterious for humans and the environment, have probably worsened the impact of the diseases, leading to increasing economic losses. Since 1990, searches have been made to find efficient tools to control GTDs, testing a wide range of active ingredients and biocontrol agents. This review provides readers with an overview of the results reported in the scientific literature over the last 15 years. In particular, the review focuses on the trials carried out applying chemicals or microorganisms to control Esca complex diseases, Botryosphaeria dieback, and Eutypa dieback, the most widespread GTDs.