Many members of the UGA Viticulture Extension Team have been hard at work this week providing workshops to help industry members develop a sound vineyard pest management plan. Workshops were held in Carrollton on Tuesday and in Dahlonega yesterday; one more workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 17th in Ellijay. For more information, please see this link to a previous blog post: https://site.extension.uga.edu/viticulture/2020/02/grape-spray-program-design-workshops-reminder/

Following that thought, I’d like to remind all that our season-long vineyard management poster can aid in the development of a season-long cultural and pest management plan in vineyards. This poster documents viticultural practices and pests of concern based on the growth stage of the vine throughout the season. Many already own a physical copy of this poster.

A digital reference to this poster can be found here in English: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1151

and here in Spanish: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1151-SP

The newest publication from the UGA Extension Viticulture Team is called “Athena: A new training system for bunch grapes.” This publication summarizes some data that Rachael White collected throughout her Master’s degree program at UGA. It also contains some well-appreciated reflections from Georgia and North Carolina growers (thank you all!). Thanks to all of our grower collaborators and thanks to Rachael White, lead author, and all co-authors: Melissa Mattee, John Scaduto, Nathan Eason, and Clark MacAllister.

The “Athena” system highlights the fact that training systems can sometimes be retrofitted and manipulated to optimize leaf area exposure and crop production. There are MANY benefits to the VSP system which is why it is very popular. But the VSP system is not the only option out there. Amongst other concerns, canopy division in training systems generally increases financial and labor inputs. The Athena is not the answer to all of our vineyard problems (let me know what is!); it is an idea that we thought would be worth sharing. We feel we have done justice in outlining things we like about Athena, but also highlighting concerns and limitations. Here is the link: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1527

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