The French word “terroir” is not about anything scary. The word is usually used when people are talking about wine and the location in which its grapes were grown. Terroir can easily apply to regional crops of any kind and currently applies to internationally recognized regional products like cheese, chocolate, tea and coffee, as well as wine. It can also be used to help define distinctive features of any crop grown in a particular region including Kobe beef, Maui onions or Hamakua mushrooms. These terroir distinctions help establish a product in the marketplace and often allow farmers to charge higher prices for their products.
The French word “terroir” is not about anything scary. The word is usually used when people are talking about wine and the location in which its grapes were grown. Terroir can easily apply to regional crops of any kind and currently applies to internationally recognized regional products like cheese, chocolate, tea and coffee, as well as wine. It can also be used to help define distinctive features of any crop grown in a particular region including Kobe beef, Maui onions or Hamakua mushrooms. These terroir distinctions help establish a product in the marketplace and often allow farmers to charge higher prices for their products.
Terroir comes from the French word for land, terre. The notion that the geography and climate of a place, including the soil composition and weather patterns, influences the quality of agricultural products from that area is a centuries-old idea. At its core is the assumption that the land imparts a unique quality that is specific to that region. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions and farming techniques that contribute to the unique qualities of the crop. Terroir creates a “sense of place” for crops.
The natural components that determine terroir can include climate, topography and soil type and can vary depending on microclimates in the region. Often an element like elevation can have a noticeable effect on the climate. The presence of topographical features like mountains, valleys and bodies of water also can have climatic effects that influence plants. Usually the fertility, drainage and heat retention of the soil are also considered elements that affect taste as well as the nutritional value of crops.
The definition of terroir can be expanded to include elements that are controlled or influenced by human decisions. This can include the choice of crops as well as variety selection. Planting and growing practices, as well as fertility supplements and pest control, though not necessarily determining terroir, also affect crop quality.
French vintners have used terroir designations as the basis for their appellation system, which is a model for the legal definition of wines by region. Though regional naming of wines was recorded in Biblical times, the first exclusive and legally protected vineyard zone was not established until 1716 in Chianti, Italy. Champagne, as a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France, was recognized in 1891, far in advance of the appellation controls legally established in France in the 1930s.
Today, many countries have laws requiring verification of regional labeling. Terroir designations are legally protected in the European Union under the Protected Geographical Status laws which allow only products genuinely originating in a region to be sold as such. This protects the reputation of regional foods, promotes local rural and agricultural activity and helps producers demand a higher price for their authentic products. The law also protects against unfair competition that can result from misleading consumers.
Coffee farmers in West Hawaii are aware of the difficulties Kona coffee has encountered in establishing labeling laws to designate and define the distinct regional qualities of their crop. Hopefully, chocolate, tea and other local agricultural products will find it easier to navigate the road to terroir definition.
Though it may be an ongoing struggle to get a legal designation for Kona and other regional coffees, we may want to start working toward terroir designation for regional chocolate, goat cheese, beef, sourdough bread, pineapples, citrus and even carrots. Restaurants are increasingly identifying the terroir or the farm where their ingredients are grown. This builds a reputation which adds value to the crop. Expanding this practice to the marketplace can certainly benefit local farmers.
Some interesting studies indicate that farming practices, in addition to terroir, can affect the taste and food value of a crop. See ctahr.hawaii.edu/SustainAg/news/articles/V3-Radovich-FunctionalFood.pdf for more information. Labeling crops according to the practices as well as the terroir can add financial value, benefit our local agricultural community, and help build consumers’ trust while providing them with more information about what they are buying and eating. Terroir designations may even be a way of addressing food safety issues. It’s time we understand the word and start using it in our agricultural marketplace.
Tropical
gardening helpline
Lynne asks: My miniature rose has gray, dusty looking stuff on the leaves. What is it and what, if anything, can I do about it?
Answer: It sounds like your rose is infected with powdery mildew. Despite the name, this mildew can appear in dry as well as damp locations. It is one of the few fungal diseases that does not require free moisture on the leaf surface.
Today, powdery mildews are among the most common, conspicuous, widespread, recognizable and damaging plant diseases. The fungi produce lots of dry, powdery spores that are easily dispersed by air currents. They are host-specific, however, and the species that appears on your rose will not likely transfer to all the plants in your garden.
The disease can be controlled in several ways. Start by removing as many of the infected leaves as you can but no more than 1/3 of the plant’s foliage. Dispose of the leaves away from the garden area.
A simple and effective spray can be made from products in your home and enhanced by using horticultural equivalents:
1 to 2 tablespoons baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate’s alkalinity retards fungus growth.)
1 to 2 tablespoons cooking oil or a light horticultural oil (as a sticker)
1 teaspoon liquid soap or an insecticidal soap (wetting agent helps combine/spread ingredients)
1 gallon of water
Mix thoroughly and apply to infected foliage late in the day to not fry the leaves in the hot sun.
This formulation can be applied weekly until all signs of the disease are gone.
This formulation can also be used regularly as a prophylactic treatment. Spray about once a week to keep fungal diseases at bay.
Relatively safe chemicals can also be used effectively. Wettable sulfur works well as does potassium bicarbonate (organic product is Kaligreen). Read and follow the labels carefully. Note that sulfur should not be applied in temperatures over 90 or within 2 weeks of any product containing oil. Some crops may be sensitive to sulfur. Check the label. Serenade is a bacterium (bacillus subtilis) that helps prevent powdery mildew from infecting a plant and is registered for organic use in Hawaii.
Spacing plants well apart and having good air circulation can help control this disease by reducing humidity within the plant canopy. Other strategies to fight powdery mildews include frequent pruning, removal and destruction of severely affected leaves or fruits, intercropping and the use of resistant plant varieties where available.
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by certified master gardeners. Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant with an organic farm in Captain Cook.