Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. 1871
and other root rot agents 

Root rot are diseases that affect the underground parts of the vine, like those of many woody plants. Three root rot agents are liable to attack the vine:

• Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. (Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Agaricomycetidae, Agaricales, Physalacriaceae), commonly called "Armillary", is responsible for "agaric root rot " .
• Rosellinia necatrix Berl. ex Prill (Fungi, Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes, Xylariomycetidae, Xylariales, Xylariaceae), for its part, is associated with "woolly root rot", or "white root rot".
• Enfin, Roesleria underground (Weinm.) Redhead (syn. Roesleria crypt Thum. & Pass.) (Mushrooms, Annual, Sordariomycetes, Incertae_sedis_, Incertae_sedis_, Roesleriaceae, Roesleria ), l'agent du "pourridié morille".
  
  

These 3 rots do not have the same importance in the vineyard. An early survey conducted in 1982 by INRA (Guillaumin et al. ) Showed that ' armillary was involved in 90% of cases of rot. This trend is certainly still relevant today.

In the vineyards where "agaric root rot" is present, the damage is considerable: this is particularly the case in the vineyards of Saint-Emilion in the Bordeaux region, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac and Tavel in the South -East of France. The percentages of dead or wasting plants can quite commonly reach high values ​​(50 to 60%) on the plots severely affected. For example, 36% of dead or affected plants were counted on three properties totaling around 80 hectares in the Saint-Emilion region.

As with other wasting diseases, the wine heritage is more or less irreparably affected. Indeed, replanting, in the absence of very specific operations (aimed at eradicating root rot), is doomed to failure, with the death of replanted plants occurring after 4 to 5 years.