Prevent insects from having sex, the curious technique of an Aragonese winery to make sustainable wine

Although it sounds paradoxical, going back to the practices of yesteryear may be the state of the art when it comes to having a more sustainable agriculture. And if not, let them tell those winegrowers who have decided to introduce techniques in the production of their wines that reduce their environmental footprint. Some of them, in fact, become tremendously curious.

Like the one used by an Aragonese winery, in which they have implemented a method to prevent pests called ‘sexual confusion’, a technique imported from Japan that avoids the use of chemical products.

It involves the installation of some diffusers that emit an odor and confuse the insects, as Alberto Sebastián, Bodegas Borsao viticulturist explains: “It prevents the male from locating the female”, so that there is no fertilization and, therefore, the plague is avoided.

In addition, the benefit of not using chemicals in the field goes beyond reducing pests, and “another type of fauna appears that you didn’t see before, it’s a more lively vineyard,” says Sebastián.

These vineyards are not the only agricultural plantations that use the technique of sexual confusion, although they are the largest in Spain.

Located in the Zaragoza municipality of Borja, this winery has committed to sustainability as a form of work in the field. As its director explains to laSexta, Emilio del Caso, they are increasing the number of hectares in which phytosanitary treatments are reduced, more in the style “of what was done in the 30s and 40s”, as he says in the video above .

But they have not only intervened in that part of the process, but also work to reach a 40% energy self-consumption in their new warehouse, for which they have installed solar panels.

With the help of Europe

Borsao, which in total produces nine million bottles of wine a year, has just created 100 hectares of organic farming, a boost that has been possible thanks to European funds.

And it is that the European Parliament has decided to bet on expanding the area dedicated to organic crops before 2030. It does so within its strategy ‘From farm to table’, with which you want to achieve a food system healthier and more sustainable. The strategy has the following objectives to achieve before that date:

• ensure enough food, and that it is affordable and nutritious, without exceeding the limits of the planet;
• halve the use of pesticides and fertilizers and the sale of antimicrobials;
• increase the amount of land devoted to organic farming;
• promote more sustainable food consumption and healthy diets;
• reduce food loss and waste;
• combat food fraud in the supply chain;
• improve animal welfare.

In line with the EU Strategy on Biodiversity by 2030, the European Union estimates that a more sustainable food system will also “help protect Europe’s nature and biodiversity”.