Incredible dogs trained to protect vineyards with new method of pest control: 'It's a game to them'
Dr. Stephanie Bolton, a sustainable winegrowing director for the Lodi Winegrape Commission, wanted to find eco-friendly ways to combat pests (mainly the vine mealybug) in wine vineyards.
After receiving a $428,000 grant from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, she went to work, successfully training four dogs known for their above-average sense of smell to find mealybugs and infected vines.
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The results were astonishing. According to Wine Spectator, the dogs found mealybugs on average over 97% of the time during three sets of trials. They also detected leafroll viruses around 93% of the time. Once they locate the problem, the dogs sit to alert their handlers to a compromised vine.
If you're worried about the dogs working overtime, don't be. "The canines are rewarded by play; it's a game to them," Bolton added, noting that "the dogs will even improve with time."
Pesticides have been continuously proven to have adverse effects on the environment. According to the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, pesticides can pollute the air and soil when improperly applied or disposed of.
There are also restrictions in place for their usage. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently has restrictions on specific toxic pesticides, though some argue that even those aren't enough, citing their harm to humans and bee populations.
Using dogs completely eliminates that problem — and ups the cuteness factor on vineyards by 1000%.
At this point in time, canines aren't used for pest detection on a large scale, but given Dr. Bolton's successful study, they could be. Wine Spectator shared that dogs are being taught to sniff out other pesky bugs in vineyards, suggesting that the future is bright for this one-of-a-kind project.
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