Just as an update from my last blog post, we are now finding Pierce’s disease (PD) symptomatic Crimson Cabernet vines in our Horticulture Farm trial in Watkinsville, GA — just outside of Athens. Shane Breeden, a Ph.D. student in the Plant Pathology Department identified symptoms last week, and Kendall Johnson,…
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We continue to see quite a bit of Pierce’s disease (PD) in our vineyards this year, to include our northern Georgia sites. I am convinced that bacterial titer drives this disease, and bacterial levels in the plant are determined by the vectors (type and number of sharpshooters involved), winter temperatures,…
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For those growing or interested in Blanc du Bois, the following review may be of interest to you. This has been submitted for development as a UGA publication, so consider this a “sneak peak.” We still need more research-based information on this cultivar and others we are growing in Georgia,…
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With the increase in sugars, veraison kicks off the period to start managing drosophilid flies (e.g. spotted wing drosophila (SWD)), which can considerably help suppress sour rot in your vulnerable grapes. The drosophilid flies are active nearly year round in these parts, but near veraison, as the brix levels in…
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See attached for a new open-access journal article on grape rots. We get all of these rots, so this review article may be a helpful reference for you. Enjoy.
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Last week I was attended the American Society of Enology and Viticulture Eastern Section Meeting ( ASEV-ES) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The purpose of this organization is to provide forums for the presentation, discussion and publication of such research and technology developments for the advancement of wines, and the solution of…
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Captan is currently under review by the EPA. The review document is below, and it can be perused for the impact of EPAs potential actions on grape disease management. EPA is proposing several mitigations for the continued use of Captan. Any responses are currently due by 27 June, but you…
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The time is upon us once again. Japanese beetles are showing up in vineyards around the state. In large enough numbers, Japanese beetles can be a severe pest of grapes during the summer, feeding mainly on foliage and (thankfully) rarely on the berries. More problematic is Japanese beetles feeding on…
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We are within a few weeks of the anticipated initial emergence of grape root borer (GRB) adults here in Georgia. If you are planning on implementing mating disruption as a management tactic for GRB and you haven’t deployed your pheromone dispensers/ties, now is the time to get those distributed. If…
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Clemson University has picked up the resistance testing for Botrytis. This is not a free service at this time. However, it is very useful and worth the funds to determine which Botryticides are working. See the attached form for information needed. Additional information from Dr. Guido Schnabel. I worked with…
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