Winepress - October 2024

A buzz in the air

Wine scientist Dion Mundy has a sweet side hustle

SOPHIE PREECE

WHEN PLANT & Food Research senior scientist Dion Mundy is with his beloved bees, he switches off all thoughts of grapevine trunk disease, botrytis and powdery mildew and focuses entirely on his sweet side hustle. “When you’re in the beehive you don’t answer your phone,” says the president of Marlborough’s Beekeepers Association and tutor for Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s apiarist course. “You’re 100% with the bees. If you’re not with the bees, the bees soon tell you about it.”

In his day job Dion can be found scanning fence lines for uncovered vine wood, advising growers on grapevine trunk disease, growing spores in his lab, and writing research papers with scientists in California and Australia. But as spring emerges, he also has an eye out for wild bee swarms in vineyards, ready to don his white suit and helmet if he’s needed. “Swarms in vineyards are much easier than swarms in people’s gardens because grape vines are quite low and they’re easy to shake into a box,” he says. “I have far too many photos of swarms I’ve collected.”

Dion grew up on a farm and market garden in Canterbury which transformed into St Helena Estate in 1978, exposing him to vineyard work from the age of three. He loved biology and plants and went on to study for a Master of Science at Canterbury University, before getting his “dream job” at Plant & Food Research in Blenheim. He explores diseases in New Zealand vines, from seasonal lurgies like botrytis and powdery mildew, to the mammoth issue of grapevine trunk disease, with its insidious creep through Marlborough’s ageing Sauvignon Blanc blocks. “I’m a grower’s son and like to do things that help the industry.”

Having grown up asking questions of everyone around him, he loves that his work pays him to do just that, while also answering questions from grape growers, who are typically open to learning about vineyard diseases and adopting best practice to mitigate their impact. “You see that when you travel internationally. New Zealand implements research really quickly and we see real impact.”

This winter the most common question has been about the disposal of infected trunks, and whether they can be

chipped and composted, instead of burning. Dion says new research from Plant & Food Research in Hawke’s Bay has looked at disposal of plant pathogens across a variety of crops, including vineyards, and none survived commercial composting at temperatures of 60C for a week. “But even the chipping means it breaks down faster and it’s not going to be an inoculum year on year.” In Marlborough this winter some people trialled chipping and burying diseased wood, which keeps it away from the air and rain required for spore release, he says. “The worst thing I see is a big pile along a fence line and every time it rains it releases spores. At the very least the piles should be covered.”

His beekeeping began when his family moved to a lifestyle block 12 years ago and wanted to boost pollination of their trees. Now they get great fruit as well as 200 litres of honey a year. The work is “pure science”, he says. “It’s all about sugars and dehydration. It’s all about the plants and the seasonality. Every year is different.”

Meanwhile, during this interview, I’ve learned about the explosive death of the drone as it mates “on the air”, with a snapping sound evidence of its success with the queen bee. Something I’ll keep in mind the next time someone discusses the birds and the bees.

“You’re 100% with the bees. If you’re not with the bees, the bees soon tell you about it.” Dion Mundy