Recent Posts

  • As the brix levels in the grapes continue to rise, the attractiveness of the fruit to spotted wing drosophila (SWD) also increases. We are currently only catching a few SWD in our monitoring traps, but this is expected to drastically increase in the next few weeks. And since SWD is associated with sour rot and…

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  • 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 this time — all free.…

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  • I look forward to seeing those that are attending the vineyard tour THIS Wednesday. Please come prepared for the weather (humidity, high temperatures, wet grass in the morning, etc.) as we will be out in some vineyards for parts of each stop. We will have refreshments available throughout the tour.   Also – please see…

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  • Hey rain… leave!

    “Rain, rain go away” sounds too fluffy and soft to me at this point… emotions are involved now.  RAIN AND FARMING GRAPES: Growers become rather animated when talking about the weather and how it is (currently negatively) affecting their crop. I completely share their sentiment. It is interesting to see how much more one cares…

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  • The vineyard tour is scheduled for next Wednesday, August 8th. Please see previous post here for tour details and information on how to pre-register, which is required. Note that you do not have to ride on the bus if you do not wish. You may opt to driver your personal vehicle if doing so better…

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  • We are still detecting grape root borer adults in north Georgia. This means that the adults are still active, with females potentially still laying eggs. While we are getting a little late for chemical control, if you have more than 35 days before harvest, you can use Lorsban 4E* (chlorpyrifos).This is currently the only insecticide registered…

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  • August is on the horizon, and you might be interested in the latest outlook for the next month. Unfortunately, I don’t see any big change in the pattern for the next month. Cooler and wetter conditions are expected to dominate the weather this week as the stream of atmospheric moisture that has been causing flooding…

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  • 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 now say that I have…

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  • This is a reminder to register for the muscadine conference to be held NEXT Thursday, July 26th, at Wolf Creek Plantation in Americus, GA. An update is that we have a conference sponsor. SNA Manufacturing / Vesco Tools is out of Acworth, GA. Alex Mussa will be in attendance to talk about Vesco tools and…

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  • We collected our first grape root borer adults today in one of our pheromone traps in north 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 base…

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