July 2019
-
I just wanted to alert everyone that spotted wing drosophila (SWD) management timing is once again upon us. The SWD flies are active nearly year round in these parts, but as the brix levels in wine grapes reach approximately 15 degrees Brix, the grapes become attractive (and thus susceptible) to SWD. We are currently only…
-
The latest forecasts for northern Georgia and surrounding areas show that scattered showers similar to what we are seeing today are expected to continue across the region for most of the next two weeks. These summer storms are very typical for late summer and because they are so scattered, getting rain from them (or conversely,…
Posted in: Weather -
The latest 7-day QPF map shows little rain in the next week for most of the Southeast with the exception of along the southern Appalachian Mountains and parts of eastern NC. Most of whatever rain does fall in the region will be late in the week on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will be rising from…
Posted in: Weather -
As a follow up to yesterday’s post on scouting your vineyard for system disease and/or nutrient imbalance symptoms… Grapevine tissue (leaf blades and/or petioles) sampling is a good, objective indicator of nutrient status in your vineyard. Many southeastern US vineyards will be entering veraison over the next couple weeks. Veraison (commencement of ripening, sugar accumulation,…
Posted in: Bunch Grapes -
As vines enter veraison, there is a shift in resource (nutrients, carbon) allocation from the canopy toward the ripening fruit. The result is can be a manifestation of nutritional and systemic disease (viral, bacterial) symptoms in canopies of deficient and/or infected vines. Please be on the look out for symptomatic vines as you scout your…
-
Good evening everyone, I have another post that may seem scary, but there is no need for panic…yet. As many of you have probably already heard, the spotted lanternfly (SLF) is the latest non-native species to invade the U.S. This insect is not a fly, but is actually a large, brightly colored planthopper, about a…
-
Now that grape harvest is starting, Cain asked me to provide some general weather updates that you can use for planning purposes for the next few weeks. I’ll try to provide a general overview of what to expect about twice a week. Today we are seeing the passage of a rare summer cold front through…
Posted in: Weather -
Hello everyone, I don’t want to cause any unwarranted panic, but there has been a report of a substantial mite infestation in a vineyard block in North Georgia. Nothing a little miticide can’t handle, but I wanted to remind everyone was aware that mites can be a problem, especially as the weather continues to heat…
-
All: A kind reminder to please help us out by taking this sour rot survey. Your responses can help us make a case that research is highly needed to further investigate optimal management methods for this devastating disease. Here is the text from the previous post: As we enter veraison this vintage, it is timely…
-
We collected our first grape root borer adults today in one of our pheromone traps in White County, Georgia. This means that the adults have started to emerge from the soil out of their pupal stage. For the next few weeks the adults will emerge, mate, and the females will lay their eggs at the…
Posted in: Uncategorized