Title: Pigs called in to deep-clean Champagne vineyards
Villagers in Cramant in France's Champagne are being treated to a rare sight: little pigs grubbing around the vines that produce the region's famed bubbly, an alternative to chemical or mechanical means of fighting weeds and pests. Originally from New Zealand, the "kunekune" pigs -- a Maori word meaning "round and fat" -- snuffle through the earth supporting neatly planted rows of grapevines. Their "thorough" and "precise" work can fight weeds as well as mildew and other fungi and aerate the soil, says wine industry consultant Olivier Zebic. First tested last year in the Bordeaux wine-growing region, the pigs may be a better choice than the other eco-friendly solution, sheep -- who "just trim" unwanted plants, Zebic adds. By contrast, the kunekune turn over "every clod of grass and even eat the roots... stopping new growth," he says. Weighing around 40 kilos (88 pounds) each, the pigs avoid eating valuable earthworms and cannot lift their heads high enough to attack the vines' leaves and branches. What's more, "they gobble up living leaves that fall to the ground straight away", preventing fungi from taking hold. Olivier Zebic says that using pigs allows a 'very significant' reduction in chemical treatments. Read the full article here.
