September 2012 – one vine is failing to thrive relative to the others, top growth is very poor, at about 1/3 of the others, and so I suspect vine trunk disease – disection confirms this below, with staining signs on the left and a more complete indication shown on the right. This is Cylindrocarpon or black foot, a fungal pathogen which infects the base of the rootstock. I know this, because I follow Richard Smart and attended his WineSkills masterclass on vine trunk disease. In spite of the infection, the roots had reached 60cms in length. Eventually, the central water carrying vessel in the trunk, called the xylem, becomes blocked, reducing water transport upwards, so that the plant collapses and dies.
The remains were burned.
