Despite the
seemingly endless rows of lavender on display at the height of summer in Provence
all is not well in the world of lavender production.
 |
| Healthy Lavender growing near Sault, Provence |
The cause
of the trouble is a miniscule little insect related to the cicada who goes by
the name of Hyalesthes obsoletus although there is nothing oblsolete about it.
 |
| Hyalesthes obsoletus © Michael F. Schönitzer |
The insect, a sap sucking leaf hopper, has a particular fondness for the taste
of lavender upon which it lays its eggs. The insect and its larvae eat the sap
of the plant which in itself would cause no problems, if eating a bit of sap
was all they did, but unfortunately they are also the carriers of a phytoplasma,
a bacterium devoid of cell walls and therefor dependant on a host, in this case
the sap of the lavender plant. The insect is referred to as a vector, who much
like a mosquito, drinks the sap from the plants and in doing so becomes
infected and so propagates the phytoplasma to other plants. The phytoplasma in
question here is the Stolbur Phytoplasma which also affects potatoes, tomatoes,
maize and vines. Once the phytoplasma is in the plant it inhibits growth and
eventually the plant becomes too weak to be productive or dies.
So there,
in short, you have the problem and the scale is huge. A noted rise in temperatures
has also caused the proliferation of the insect and at this moment in time no
effective solution has been found to eradicate it.
 |
| Lavendin Plants affected by the Phytoplasma © CRIEPPAM |
 |
| Lavender Plants affected by the Phytoplasma © CRIEPPAM |
The
possible methods to tackle the problem are the following:
- Antibiotic
treatment which would attack the bacteria directly, but their use on plants is
forbidden in France to avoid the development of mutation and resistance which
would only increase the problem.
- Chemical
treatment in the form of pesticides would be almost impossible due to the fact
that the larvae live under ground and the adults are present during the
flowering season at the same time as honey bees. Also the use of pesticides is,
from an ecological point of view, not possible even if it did work.
So
attacking the phytoplasma or the insect is impossible. All that remains are
ways to discourage the insect from laying its eggs on the lavender and the development
of resistant strains of lavender who remain unaffected by the phytoplasma.
So far
several varieties have been produced which are tolerant to the attacks but none
are totally immune. The replacement of affected plants by these is taking place
but it is not an end to the problem.
Other experiments which use fine white clay sprayed on to the plants. This
seems to discourage the insect who finds the white aspect unappealing.
Research is
continuing all the time and research costs money, hence the creation of the
foundation to save the lavender of Provence.
I myself am
a member of the board and the only representative of the tourism industry. The
president is Olivier Baussan the founder of L’Occitane en Provence. The other
members are mostly lavender producers.
Through
donations the foundation can continue its research into this major problem and
as you can see is coming up with answers, but the solution to the problem is
not in sight.
Kairos
Travel has decided that as of 2014 every for small group lavender tour 100€ per
guest would be donated to the Lavender Foundation, and for every lavender day
tour or excursion 50€ would be donated. The donations can continue on of course
and you can make a donation however big or small, by following this link: http://www.sauvegarde-lavandes-provence.org/souscription-don-fonds-dotation
The
Foundation’s website is only in French for the moment, but the English version
is being worked upon and should be online soon.
