A new open access article regarding the OchraVine Control Project was published in the journal Toxins, entitled “Pest Management and Ochratoxin A Contamination in Grapes: A Review”. The paper emphasizes that berry infection by A. carbonarius is enhanced by damage to the skin caused by insect pests such as the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana as well as allochthonous pests. According to the authors, “the potential of newly emerged pests, to be involved in OTA-producing fungi dissemination, introduces new challenges for the prediction of OTA contamination and OTA control in grapes” a fact that reinforces the need for a novel and holistic approach based on the interaction and combination of multiple factors of the vineyard system”. The authors highlight the importance of an integrated Ochratoxin A (OTA) predicting model for grapes which will include not only the Aspergillus carbonarius life cycle, but also European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana and similar pests, as well as climate change.
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