UGA Extension Viticulture Blog

Posts by pbrannen

pbrannen

About pbrannen

Phil Brannen is a Professor in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate degree in Plant Protection and Pest Management, where he also received an M.S. in Plant Pathology, followed by a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Auburn University. He has extensive experience with disease management programs in numerous cropping systems. He serves as the extension fruit pathologist for Georgia – conducting research and technology transfer for multiple fruit commodities. His efforts are directed towards developing IPM practices to solve disease issues and technology transfer of disease-management methods to commercial fruit producers. He also teaches the graduate level Field Pathology Course, the History of Plant Diseases and their Impact on Human Societies Course, team-teaches the IPM Course, coordinates the Viticulture and Enology in the Mediterranean Region Course (Cortona, Italy), and guest lectures in numerous other courses throughout the year.

Captan Review by EPA

Feb 25, 2019 | Written by

Hello to all.  Captan is currently under review by EPA.  For those of you with interest in this fungicide and its continued use for grapes, please respond with comments to EPA via the link below.  Also, forward to other producers and other researchers outside Georgia and the Southeast who should…
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Gramoxone (Paraquat) Injury to Young Vines

Oct 5, 2018 | Written by Phil Brannen

The school of hard knocks is tough, but lessons learned can be important and they tend to stick.  I encountered an issue in one of our just-planted, on-farm research blocks yesterday.  Vines were collapsing and dying, and symptomatic vines presented a combination of red leaves, and/or leaves with red to…
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Downy Mildew Field Failures in 2018

Sep 27, 2018 | Written by

This article (see link) reviews the state of grape downy mildew resistance in Georgia as of the close of the 2018 season.  Field failures when using strobilurin (QoI) fungicides have been confirmed in Georgia for both research and multiple commercial vineyard sites.  Of major import, efficacy of several downy mildew…
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Pierce’s Disease Update

Aug 23, 2018 | Written by

Pierce’s disease (PD), caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, is quite prevalent in many locations this year.  The cold winter this last year has not made up for the two previous warm winters, so the bacterium has survived and prospered over the last 2-3 years. Unfortunately, once vines are infected…
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Botrytis Resistance Testing

Aug 13, 2018 | Written by

Some of you already tried sending Botrytis samples to Clemson for fungicide resistance testing — only to find out that the service was no longer offered. However, Dr. Guido Schnabel will be conducting studies with the PROFILE system in early September, so he is volunteering to take Botrytis samples at…
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Crown Gall on Muscadine Grapes in North Georgia

Jul 28, 2018 | Written by

I was at a muscadine meeting in Americus, GA earlier this week (Thursday), and I made comment on how I have never really observed significant crown gall on muscadine grapes in Georgia. I scheduled a muscadine grape visit with a producer near Ellijay, GA the next day, and I can…
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Black Rot Issues

Jun 26, 2018 | Written by

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…
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Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, and Black Rot Warnings

Jun 23, 2018 | Written by

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…
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Downy Mildew Resistance in Georgia

Jun 11, 2018 | Written by

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…
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