Bunch Grapes

  • In 2022 an injectable bacteriophage product was registered for use in Georgia for control of Pierce’s disease. Inphatec, the company behind the XyliPhi-PD, will have a representative demonstrating how to use the product and its applications on Tuesday, April 11th from 10:00am-11:30am at Three Sisters Vineyards in Dahlonega. If attending, please RSVP to Clark MacAllister…

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  • Hello everybody! If we have not had the opportunity to meet yet, my name is Sarah Lowder and I am the new Viticulture Extension Specialist for UGA! I got started earlier this March and have been able to meet many of you thus far (but hope to meet the rest of you soon!). Though I…

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  • Due to overwhelming demand for the commercial grape spray program design workshop in Ellijay, we have decided to offer the same workshop in Dahlonega on March 2nd from 9:30am-3:00pm. Join us at the Lumpkin County Parks & Rec. building located at 365 Riley Rd., Dahlonega, GA 30533. Pesticide credits will be available for those with…

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  • Many of the fungicides utilized for Botrytis management are no longer efficacious due to resistance development in this fungus.  Now is a great time to collect Botrytis samples for fungicide-resistance testing.  While the funds last, Botrytis resistance testing is free for wine grape producers in most of the Southeast (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina,…

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  • Mark Hoffman, viticulturist for NCSU, sent me the following information this morning. There will be a pertinent webinar on responding to COVID in winery operations. The webinar will take place on Monday, May 18th from 12-1:30 PM, and is titled “Re”wine”ing the Clock in a Post-COVID World: ensuring personal safety & production efficiency as winery operations…

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  • Pierce’s disease (PD) is a threat to vineyard sustainability in some parts of the southeastern US. PD is particularly a threat to susceptible cultivars planted in vineyards that are located in low-elevation, “warmer” micro-climates. PD was observed in several vineyards in late summer/fall 2019. We have experienced yet another moderate winter. We may thus continue…

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  • 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…

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  • Join us Wednesday, for the last viticulture webinar in the Eastern Viticulture and Enology Forum (EVEF) winter webinar series this Wednesday, March 20th 2024 from noon to 1:30PM for “Addressing Climate Change Challenges Through Vineyard Management Strategies”. This webinar includes a grower panel from across the Eastern US (including our own Georgia grower, Eric Seifarth!),…

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  • To all viticulture blog subscribers that are vineyard and winery owners in Georgia: We are recruiting hosts for the Winegrowers of Georgia Internship Program for the 2024 field season; we have several excellent undergraduate candidates we are about to start interviewing, but we still need a few more hosts for this season! For those looking for more…

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  • Dormant Pruning

    Happy new year! While some have started their winter pruning, most people get started pruning after the new year. While pruning timing choices often come down to labor, I wanted to post some resources so you can all refresh yourselves since pruning is one of the most vital vineyard care activities. We are currently getting…

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  • As most of us have wrapped up our grape harvest for 2023, please take a few minutes to (anonymously) share some of your grape quality information! https://ugeorgia.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ojgiMN5H5sDyDQ Fill in as much information as you can, but we are just asking for the grape variety, harvest date, county, Brix, TA, and pH at harvest. We shall…

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  • I’ve received a couple questions about our meeting next Wednesday at Limoges Cellars! There is still time and room to join us, though please make sure to sign up by Monday, 14 Aug so that we can make sure to have enough food. I’m excited for our discussions we’ll have. Ben Shirley with the USDA…

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  • Some of our earlier harvested varieties, like Blanc du Bois, in west GA have their harvest start scheduled very soon! While many of you still have several weeks before harvest begins, it is time to refresh on things to keep in mind when making harvest decisions. Harvest Decision Considerations: Repost from 2018 by Cain: https://site.extension.uga.edu/viticulture/2018/08/harvest-update-good-luck/…

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  • We often think about pruning as a winter activity. However, this process starts much earlier in the year. Vines under stress are much more easily identified during the summer. Residual effects from cold damage or trunk disease issues, while they can appear early in the season, are often becoming more apparent as we move forward…

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  • Some of you may have already conducted leaf removal in your vineyards, but some of you are now getting into the early fruit development stage where leaf removal is considered more of the ‘standard’ time point. See some of lovely pictures of some fresh leaf removal from Bill Cox. Q: Why remove leaves? A: Fruit-zone…

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  • Out in the Watkinsville Hort Farm this morning I noticed some Japanese beetles – the season is upon us! Below is some information that Dr. Brett Blaauw posted previously that some of you may find helpful. Let me know what ya’ll are seeing in your own vineyards – how has it compared to previous years?…

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  • Bloom is one of the common times for grapevine tissue nutrient sampling. This information is the most useful to look at if you have multiple years of data on the same vines (or want to start that collection) or noticed some foliar nutrition symptoms in the vines previously (as the symptoms are less likely to…

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