In recent years trunk disease problems have emerged that are of paramount importance to the grape industry. They include the resurgence of esca (black measles) and Eutypa dieback in mature vineyards, dieback by Botryosphaeria species and decline diseases of young vines in newly planted vineyards. These diseases were attracting attention from scientists all over the world, but the research was often conducted in isolation and there was little exchange of the rather fragmentary information.

The realization that both esca in mature vines and decline in young vines were associated with the same fungus, and the naming of that fungus as Phaeoacremonium chlamydosporum (later renamed Phaeomoniella chlamydospora) focussed the attention of researchers on possible inter-relationships of these diseases. The need for closer coordination between scientists working on these diseases was realized, and the idea of an International Council on Grapevine Trunk Diseases was conceived.

The first Council meeting took place in California (USA) in July 1998, and agreed on objectives and a structure for the Council. The Council serves as a forum for researchers from grape growing countries.

The Council executive consists of a chairperson and four regional coordinators. The first Chairperson of ICGTD was Dr. Luigi Chiarappa, who first proposed the formation of a Council. The other Founding Members were Ian Pascoe, Lucie Morton, Laura Mugnai, Lisa van de Water, and Philippe Larignon.

The International Council of Grapevine Trunk Diseases has been welcomed as the Subject Matter Committee on Grapevine Trunk Diseases by the International Society for Plant Pathology (see ISPP Newsletter 31 (4) August 2001).

The Committee has organized 5 International Workshops:

1st IWGTD, Siena, Italy (October 1999);

2nd IWGTD, Lisbon, Portugal (September 2001);

3rd IWGTD, Christchurch, New Zealand (February 2003),

4th IWGTD, Stellenbosh, South Africa (January 2005),

5th IWGTD, Davis, California (2006)

The 6th IWGTD will be held in Firenze, Italy, next 1-3 September 2008

Two Special issues and 3 issues containing peerly reviewed papers with the more relevant results obtained on the subject that had been presented by selected experts at the five workshops were published in Phytopathologia Mediterranea.

The ICGTD is a non-profit organisation. It has no sponsors, no membership fees. All its activities are carried out on a volunteer base, and with the strong support of ISPP and of MPU (Mediterranean Phytopathological Society, editor of Phytopathologia Mediterranea).

A website for the Council or ISPP Committee activities is now under preparation (htpp://icgtd.org/ (working but still under construction) with the help of the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology, California (USA).

The ICGTD, meeting so often, managed to create a close net of communication and collaboration. Students and researchers moved from one research centre to the other for collaboration in research and for exchange of information. The frequent and most friendly contacts created a really fruitful and pleasant friendly atmosphere in the group. In this atmosphere ICGTD Workshops also become an occasion for discussion and decision making on general matters as names of the trunk diseases we are dealing with.