August 2017

  • As a follow up to Phil’s earlier post about managing sour rot and spotted wing drosophila (SWD), I just want to mention that grapes are now becoming attractive to SWD, so if you have had issues with SWD and/or sour rot in the past, now is the time to start considering management options. The research…

    Posted in: ,
  • MONITORING MATURITY: Monitoring grape maturity is important in order to determine when to pick. I am not going to go into the rather subjective details of what defines maturity for making quality wine. Most industry practitioners use a combination of chemical and sensory evaluations to determine when to pick (… as well as the physical…

    Posted in: ,
  • This is a final reminder that The UGA Extension New Grape Grower’s Conference will take place next Wednesday, August, 17th at Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris, Georgia. You can sign up here until Monday at 5 PM: https://events.attend.com/f/1383779861   The final schedule is here: New Growers Workshop 2017 Program   See y’all there.

    Posted in:
  • Pierce’s Disease (PD) is an ever present threat in the minds of many grape-growers.  This disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, is spread by many vectors, but most notably, the glassy winged sharpshooter (GWSS).  Though PD was first discovered in Anaheim, California and was spread by the blue-green sharpshooter, the presence of such an…

    Posted in:
  • Sour rot is showing up in some Georgia vineyards (see photo below), and this is really no surprise with our environment.  The classic vinegar smell in the vineyard helps to identify sour rot, as other rots are somewhat similar as they initially develop. We have issues with this disease complex to some degree in most…

    Posted in:
  • Presidio is no longer registered for grape downy mildew management.  This is unfortunate, but Valent confirmed this information. Presidio will be removed from the SRSFC IPM guide.  You can use existing stocks of Presidio, so no worries if you have it on hand at this time. Ranman has confirmed activity against downy mildew, and it…

    Posted in: , ,