Mother Plant Cleaning

Our primary concern is diseases transmitted through propagation material that have been defined as economically significant or that have become barriers to marketing final products to markets relevant to the national industry.

This program began three years ago, focusing on cleaning mother plants of grapevine rootstocks. We gradually incorporated table grape varieties, clones for the wine industry, and, in a more recent phase, programs for the production of mature plants, including cherries, apples, and stone fruits.

We have prioritized the control of phytopathogenic viruses for the health of our propagation material, establishing control panels for each species.

In the wine and table grape production program, we have included a panel consisting of seven viruses, including Grapevine fan leaf virus (GFLV) and Grapevine leaf roll associated virus-3 (GLRaV-3), which have been included in the new SAG regulations governing nurseries and which will come into effect at the end of 2022.

Fruit Trees

In the case of cherries, the panel of economically important viruses includes Prunus necrotic ring spot virus (PNRSV) and Prune dwarf virus (PDV), among four others that cause problems in orchard establishment.

Other pathogen panels that we control include bacteria such as Agrobacterium spp. and fungi, especially those that cause wood diseases in grapevines and other fruit trees.

Superior Quality and Health

We reiterate our commitment to our growers to offer plants of the highest quality and superior health standards.

What do we do?

Univiveros® has defined a series of measures and practices to control and minimize the presence of viruses, bacteria, and fungi in the plants we deliver to our clients. This is known as the Total Health Program (TSP).

We take statistically representative samples of propagation materials to ensure, with a certain level of confidence, that less than a predetermined percentage of the plot is infected.

The samples are analyzed in specialized laboratories for the aforementioned pathogens.

We define tolerance limits for pathogen incidence, ensuring that we are constantly selecting the healthiest materials for propagating the plants we offer our clients.

The mother plants used as source material undergo a rigorous selection process, eliminating all those that do not meet our phytosanitary standards.

For new varieties introduced to Chile, once they are released from the mandatory quarantine period regulated by the SAG (Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service), we conduct a complete analysis of the defined viruses in order to select only healthy materials. These are then kept under protection in germplasm banks, serving as the future source of material for our budwood nurseries.

We have strategic partners in different parts of the world who provide us with materials that meet highly demanding health protocols, such as the 2010 protocol from the USA, and SAG-approved repositories like CTIFL in France.

Likewise, we establish our nurseries on soils free of virus-vectoring nematodes and in isolated areas, far from commercial orchards, allowing us to preserve the initial health of the plants.

We ensure that our rootstocks meet the health standard we have defined for each species.

For varieties or clones with high commercial demand, and where our own Mother Plants cannot provide sufficient propagation material, grafting material is collected from commercial orchards. These external sources of material undergo a rigorous phytosanitary selection process, including visual inspection, sampling, and laboratory analysis, allowing us to select materials that meet all our sanitary standards.