Plant protection products are part of proper agriculture. It is also at the forefront of the country's new pesticide reduction plan. A matter of course in agricultural practice is also the principle: As much as necessary, as little as possible. No farmer or winegrower applies excessively large quantities of expensive pesticides.
The fact that there is still room for manoeuvre to further minimise their use is undisputed among most farmers. They are grateful for good advice and new scientific approaches that can be transferred to practice. It becomes dangerous when politicians give consumers the impression that organic farming is possible across the board and without pesticides. This is a fairy tale, and viticulture is a very good example of this
Winegrowers have to put more effort into protecting their permanent crops from plant diseases than farmers who can maintain a carefully thought-out crop rotation in the fields. Difficult wine years such as 2016 and 2021 have pushed organic viticulture in the Rheingau to its limits. During these years, organic winegrowers have to spray much more often than their conventional counterparts, which puts a strain on their greenhouse gas balance.
Without copper preparations against powdery mildew, organic viticulture would not be economically feasible in most years. So it's no wonder that scientists are working hard to minimize copper as an active ingredient in the vineyard through innovative techniques or to replace it with alternatives. But there is still a long way to go.
It is also hard to imagine that winegrowers are increasingly clearing Riesling and Pinot Noir in order to plant new, fungus-resistant grape varieties with which they have little experience and which the customer, at least so far, does not want. However, the core of the reduction plan points in the right direction: more advice, more support and more money for scientific research. Nevertheless, the objectives must remain realistic. Without crop protection, there would be no food from the local fields.