Dogs detect powdery mildew on grapevines using scent

Dogs are being trained to detect a harmful fungus called powdery mildew that affects grapevines. This fungus can hurt plant growth and wine quality. Researchers are studying the scents that these infected grape leaves produce to better understand how dogs can identify the disease. Nayelly Rangel, a graduate student at Texas Tech University, is leading this research, which will be presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Traditionally, humans find signs of powdery mildew by looking for gray patches on leaves, but by then, the infection is often severe. Dogs have shown they can smell powdery mildew before it becomes visible, but scientists are still figuring out which smells attract the dogs. Paola Prada-Tiedemann, a professor at Texas Tech, says "Our four-legged friends don't talk, so we're trying to understand what they are encountering." To help train the dogs, researchers are testing air samples from grape leaves at different infection stages. They use special equipment to identify the airborne chemicals the leaves emit. Their findings so far suggest that healthy grape leaves emit a different set of odors compared to those infected by mildew. Next, the researchers will isolate key scents from infected leaves to train dogs more effectively. They believe that dogs can smell certain harmful compounds better than others, allowing them to detect the disease earlier. The ultimate aim is to switch from visual checks for mildew to more reliable odor detection using dogs. This could greatly help vineyard owners and improve the quality of wine. The researchers hope their work will lead to better protection for grapevines against this widespread issue.