Precision vine-growing for the sustaining of heritage landscapes: what do local residents think?

International audienceVineyard landscapes are now recognized as a strong heritage value. They are one of the elements that contributed to the inclusion of the Loire Valley on the Unesco World Heritage list. These landscapes have been built over time by adapting to different constraints, and in particular to diseases. Indeed, vines are particularly susceptible to diseases, as the phylloxera which had disastrous consequences. Phytosanitary products were imposed after the Second World War, appearing to the winegrower as an efficient way to protect his crops and his harvests, a miracle solution. The quantities used are all the more important as the treatments are not only curative but also preventive. However, limits have appeared and it is now admitted that the systematic use of phytosanitary products has harmful effects on the environment as well as on health. Winegrowers are aware of this and, must reinvent their profession, finding new ways to fight against these multiple diseases that can compromise their crops and threaten their business. The sustainability of the emblematic landscapes born from the culture of the vine depends on it. One of the solutions being considered nowadays is Precision Vine-growing. The Vinodrone research project ("Viticulture de précision par analyse d'images et de données provenant de drones", funded by the Centre-Val de Loire region, 2017-2020) aims at investigating this avenue, focusing on early detection of diseases based on hyperspectral imagery from drones. In the framework of this project, we conducted 44 interviews, in a directed manner, with inhabitants of three wine-producing cities situated in the Loire Valley (Noyers-sur-Cher, Chinon and Amboise) or their surroundings. We will use these interviews to question the future of Precision Vine-growing: how is the use of pesticides considered in territories where vines have been part of the landscape for a long time? Are wine growers perceived as polluters and poisoners? Above all, from the point of view of the people living near their plots, should they consider turning to new technologies, in this case drones, to reduce the use of phytosanitary products? After a presentation of the significance of vine-growing landscapes in the Loire Valley, the related issues and the methodology adopted, we will analyze the consequences the use of pesticides, the feelings they arouse, and the access to information, compared with the threats identified for the vineyards. We will then see that the condemnation of phytosanitary products is not so clear-cut, mainly because the respondents are aware that diseases threaten the vineyard; they nevertheless admit to being afraid of these products, the risks of which they claim to know. We will then focus on the use of drones in the context of Precision Vine-growing, in order to question their benefits and drawbacks, especially from a societal point of view: although this technology is perceived positively, a few reservations have been expressed (cost, nuisance and the need for regulations...). Therefore, these latter must be considered in order to imagine tomorrow's vine-growing and the associated landscapes