News You Can Use
Vineyard Floor Management
Under-vine cover crop treatments (Justine Vanden Heuvel and Lindsay Jordan) at Cornell University.
Weeds can compete with grapes for water, nutrients, and sunlight, and new growers often ask for advice in creating an effective weed management program for their vineyards. Competition from weeds can be especially deleterious in the first year or two after planting, so an effective weed control program is important early on.
Most growers aim to have a vegetation-free strip under the vines; however, research by Justine Vanden Heuvel at Cornell University is looking at using under-vine cover crops as a method to reduce excessive vine vigor, which can be a significant problem in cold-hardy hybrids. Included in this News You Can Use is a link to the February 12, 2013 Vineyard Floor Management webinar by Justine and Harlene Hatterman-Valenti of North Dakota State University. Justine discusses the under-vine cover crop work, and Harlene covers more traditional methods of weed control in vineyards, and has a “What herbicide caused this damage?” quiz at the end.
Other links:
Weed Control in New and Established Vineyards, Paul Domoto, Iowa State University
Weed Management, Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Several articles about weed control posted at eviticulture.org
Chrislyn A. Particka, PhD Extension Support Specialist Cornell University - Terence Bradshaw Summer course offerings on vegetable and fruit management, farm marketing, soil fertility, and compost management in summer 2014: http://learn.uvm.edu/partners/cals/programs/catamount-educational-farm/ Tree Fruit and Viticulture Specialist University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science MAIL ADDRESS: 201 Jeffords Hall 63 Carrigan Drive Burlington, VT 05405 Information for commercial orchard and vineyard managers in Vermont and beyond: http://www.uvm.edu/~fruit http://blog.uvm.edu/fruit/ Director UVM Horticulture Research and Education Center Catamount Educational Farm 65 Green Mountain Drive South Burlington, VT (No Mail Service) http://www.uvm.edu/~hortfarm (802)922-2591 (cell) This institution is an equal opportunity provider.