Vine mealybug has never been more widespread across the grape growing regions of California than it is now. Watch this video interview with Nathan Mercer from the Kent Daane Lab at UC Berkeley, who shares a more effective and collaborative way to control this pest in vineyards. Read more about vineyard pest management in American Vineyard Magazine. Please thank this …
Best Practices for Keeping Herbicide Residue off Your Grapes
As grape growers strive to continue minimizing herbicide drift and residue on their vines/fruit, watch this brief video with Emeritus UCCE Weed Science Advisor John Roncoroni on best practices that can also save money on spray applications. Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine. Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
UGA End-of-Season Pierce’s Disease Observations
We continue to see quite a bit of Pierce’s disease (PD) in our vineyards this year, to include our northern Georgia sites. I am convinced that bacterial titer drives this disease, and bacterial levels in the plant are determined by the vectors (type and number of sharpshooters involved), winter temperatures, and possible alternative hosts. I visited a Lomanto site near …
Fresno State Researchers Investigate Smoke Taint in Wine Grapes to Help Define Thresholds
Viticulture and enology researchers from multiple universities have been feverishly working with the western wine grape industry to learn more about how wildfire smoke impacts developing wine grapes. The hope is to develop some form of industry standard threshold for smoke taint, so that wine grapes will not be rejected at the winery unless they have truly been compromised. Watch …
Dealing with Powdery Mildew Outbreaks in Missouri Vineyards
Grape growers as well as my visual observations confirm that some vine- yards are experiencing powdery mildew outbreaks. If your vineyard is experiencing a powdery mildew outbreak after the application of a DMI fungicide (Frac Code 3) then consider that the powdery mildew may have developed resistance. Powdery mildew resistance to DMI inhibitors was confirmed in Missouri in 2021. Some …
Harnessing the Power of Natural Volatile Compounds in Grapevines that Thwart Sharpshooters
Grapevines have a natural defense mechanism against Glassy-winged sharpshooter, a notorious vector for Pierce’s disease, that researchers are trying to learn more about. Watch this brief interview with Julie Pedraza from the Fresno State Viticulture & Enology Research Center and read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine. Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Stomp the Spot(ted Lanternfly) Movement
Virginia’s most infamous hitchhiker is on the move again: the spotted lanternfly. These insects colonize quickly, disrupt native ecosystems, and potentially cause problems to agriculture and forest health. The spotted lanternfly is also a significant threat to Virginia’s grape and wine industries. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are partnering to empower …
Pediococcus Wine Spoilage: Concern or Confusion?
Of the three main genus of lactic acid bacteria found in wine, Pediococcus is one of the least well characterized. Despite it commonly being found in wines around the world, it is still difficult to answer the simple question ‘what impact will it have on my wine?’ Unlike say Brettanomyces, whose spoilage potential is well described, the spoilage risk that …
Drosophila and Sour Rot Management in Georgia Grapes
With the increase in sugars, veraison kicks off the period to start managing drosophilid flies (e.g. spotted wing drosophila (SWD)), which can considerably help suppress sour rot in your vulnerable grapes. The drosophilid flies are active nearly year round in these parts, but near veraison, as the brix levels in wine grapes reach approximately 15 degrees Brix, the grapes become attractive (and thus susceptible) to SWD. …
First Detection of Spotted Lanternfly in Michigan
Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has been hitchhiking across much of the northeastern United States since its discovery in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. The pest can now be found in at least 13 states, including a small, localized population in Oakland County, the first known occurrence of live spotted lanternflies in Michigan. This infestation appears to have been caused by spotted …
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