June 2018
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Is it ever going to stop raining? I’ve been getting this question a lot in the last couple of weeks, as farmers and everyone else get inundated by repeated rounds of thunderstorms that develop over the afternoon hours and grow in the late afternoon heat. I’ve gotten almost three inches of rain in the last…
Posted in: Weather -
We have been receiving multiple grape samples with black rot in our diagnostic clinic. Only one or two infected grapes can provide a vast number of spores for secondary infections of clusters going forward. Prevalent rainfall has made control difficult. The disease cycle will slow as grapes mature, but fruit can still be infected till…
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The Schnabel lab at Clemson University is still offering free testing to help identify resistance problems in the gray mold pathogen Botrytis cinerea from small fruits. The test covers the most important FRAC codes for gray mold control. As grapes approach veraison, Botrytis may start to become a problem as clusters tighten and/or in low ventilated areas…
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We are starting to see diseases pop up on both European vinifera and hybrid grapes. For some of these, such as anthracnose and Phomopsis, much of the initial infection occurred much earlier. The goal now would be to prevent secondary spread — especially to developing clusters. Relative downy mildew, Sarah Campbell (UGA grad student) reported…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
Sarah Campbell, a graduate student in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Georgia, has been reviewing our situation with downy mildew resistance to three fungicide classes utilized in Georgia. The maps in the document below show the counties which she has surveyed and whether resistance has been found in those counties. Of critical…
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We are within a few weeks of the anticipated initial emergence of grape root borer (GRB) adults here in Georgia. If you are planning on implementing mating disruption as a management tactic for GRB and you haven’t deployed your pheromone dispensers/ties, now is the time to get those distributed. If you are unfamiliar with grape…
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There will be a muscadine conference held on Thursday, July 26th. The event will be hosted by Wolf Creek Plantation (https://www.wolfcreekplantation.com/) in Americus, GA. Thanks in advance to Matt Johnson and his crew for hosting this event. Agenda is as follows: 8:45 – 9:15 AM: Registration and coffee; welcome, Cain Hickey, UGA Viticulture Extension Specialist…
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Great to see some of you at the West Georgia winegrape symposium today! For those who missed it, here is a summary of what I am expecting for climate conditions this summer and fall. One month ago, dry conditions across Georgia were hampering the best efforts of producers to get their crops in and see…
Posted in: Weather -
The time is upon us once again. Japanese beetles have been documented in vineyards in western GA. They are only just beginning to emerge, so their numbers will increase dramatically over the next few weeks. In large enough numbers, Japanese beetles can be a severe pest of grapes during the summer, feeding mainly on foliage…