Downy mildew of grape

The oomycocyte Plasmopara viticola is the downy mildew of grapes. It is a native of North America.

In the late 1870s, downy mildew was accidentally introduced to Europe. At the time, the French wine industry was concerned over a massive aphid infestation, and so brought resistant vine strains over from America to breed them into their own grapes. When these American stocks arrived, they also brought the downy mildew, which almost wiped out the entire French wine industry. The industry was saved by the serendipitous discovery of Bordeaux mixture, a mixture of lime and copper sulfate, which brought the disease under control when applied to the leaves of the plants. This discovery is also important for being the first known fungicide, and in fact the first chemical used to control a plant disease.