Northern Grapes News You Can Use: Grape Insect, Disease, and Mite Control

By Terence Bradshaw

http://northerngrapesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-News-You-Can-Use-Disease-and-Insect-biology-and-management.pdf

News You Can Use

Grape Disease, Insect, and Mite Control and Biology

June 2016

A single grape phylloxera leaf gall (left), with the side of the gall opened to show adult female and many yellowish eggs (photo by J. Ogrodnick) and anthracnose lesions on grape berries (right) (photo by W. Wilcox).

Good disease and insect control programs are crucial to producing high-quality grapes, and in turn, great wines. Developing an effective pest management program requires access to complete, accurate, research-based information.

This month, we are sharing two documents that will serve as a cornerstone in developing, or improving, your pest management program. Wayne Wilcox and Greg Loeb, both of Cornell University, are experts in grape fungal diseases and insect pests, respectively. Each year, they publish documents that are packed with great information for both novice and experienced grape growers, which are based on over 20 years of research and hands-on experience. These publications not only synthesize results of their ongoing research projects, but also share new developments in control measures, as well as insights into the biology of grape fungal diseases and insects, allowing for a complete understanding of the pests you are trying to control.

Grape Insect and Mite Pests, 2016 (http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/grape/pdfs/Loeb-Grape Insect Mite Pests 2016.pdf) – Greg Loeb, Department of Entomology, NYSAES, Cornell University, Geneva, N. Y.

Grape Disease Control, 2016 (http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/grape/pdfs/Wilcox-Grape Disease Control 2016.pdf) – Wayne Wilcox, Department of Plant Pathology, NYSAES, Cornell University, Geneva, N.Y.

The Northern Grapes Project is funded by the USDA’s Specialty Crops Research Initiative Program of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, Project #2011-51181-30850

Chrislyn A. Particka, PhD

Extension Support Specialist

Cornell University

School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture Section

630 W. North Street

Geneva, NY 14456

cap297

www.northerngrapesproject.org

Direct sale scale testing and licensing

FYI…
Subject: Direct sale scale testing and licensing

To: Vermont Farmers’ Markets & Farm Stand vendors,

This past spring, The Agency Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) held 16 scale testing workshops located around the state. These opportunities were set up to ensure that the scales used at farmers’ markets and farm stands were legal for trade and accurate and received the proper testing and license requirements. Only a small number of vendors attended these scale testing workshops, resulting in many direct sale scales remaining untested. As of 2016, all small capacity scales used in direct sales to consumers require annual testing and are subject to a license.

In order to help with the transition in scale requirements, this email and attached letter will describe various certification options for your direct sale scales. Scales used for direct sales must be legal for trade, with either a Class 3 designation or a legal for trade statement. These scales are usually under 100-pound capacity, and are easily mobile. Portable platform scales used for weighing large amounts of produce can be tested onsite at the farm stand. Scales used to prepack packages for sale do not require testing or licensing. If you’ve have your scale tested but not yet licensed, please contact our Licensing Section at: 828-2436.

VAAFM Consumer Protection staff are not able to attend all farmers’ markets and farm stands located across the state during the marketing season to test scales. Instead, if you have not had your scale tested, you can call me at 828-3458 to request testing. You will be able to bring your scale, by appointment, to our weights and measures laboratory located at 322 Industrial Park Drive in Berlin, or in unique circumstances, a field specialist will try to set up a time to test your scale onsite.

Beginning in 2017, the only opportunity to get your small capacity scales tested and certified will be at the scale workshops. If scales are found without approval seals at farmers’ markets or farm stands after that date, a penalty may be issued.

Our goal is to work with you to make sure your scales are legal for trade and accurate, protecting both you and your customers. If you have questions, please contact me at 828-3458 or henry.marckres.

Sincerely,

Henry J. Marckres

Chief of Consumer Protection Section

henry.marckres

Telephone – 802-828-3458

F.M. final letter.pdf

Vineyard management

By Terence Bradshaw

Apologies if pictures don’t come through in this message, attached photos may be found in the corresponding blog post: http://blog.uvm.edu/fruit/2016/05/28/vineyard-management/

Grapes are moving fast in Vermont vineyards, with most cultivars in the UVM vineyard at about 3” shoot growth. Shoot thinning now will give best results before the vines waste energy on growth that you won’t keep. We typically aim for 4-6 well-spaced shoots per foot of canopy, selecting for the most healthy/vigorous and those with appropriate orientation for our downward training system (high-wire cordon).

Figure 1 Before shoot thinning

Figure 2 After shoot thinning

This is a typical time to start a spray program to manage disease. First, a warning- do not spray anything in the heat we are expecting today and tomorrow May 28-29. Application of many materials just prior to and most anything during heat over 85°F can cause phytotoxicity to vines. So have a nice Memorial Day, than get back to work Tuesday.

The primary disease of concern at this point is phomopsis, as rachis infection at this point in the season is may cause significant fruit loss at harvest. Anthracnose may also be active at this point , given the warm/hot weather. Most growers would do best to cover early this week with a contact fungicide like mancozeb or captan.

Organic growers are in for a bit more work. The standard fungicides, copper and sulfur, have only fair efficacy against this disease at best, and in a couple of weeks when black rot becomes the next disease of concern, those materials will have even less efficacy against that disease. The first line of defense in an organic vineyard is a strict sanitation program. This includes removing all mummies still in the canopy (not dropping on the ground, but actually removing them from the vineyard) as well as any obviously diseased wood. Phomopsis and anthracnose both overwinter largely on infected wood in the canopy, and removing this wood during dormant pruning or now is essential to reducing disease pressure. Stubs left at the ends of spurs should now be removed since you can see where this year’s shoot growth will resume (at the developing shoot)- these stubs will die and may become infected with phomopsis this season (or were last season) .

Figure 3 Removing stubs at end of retained spurs.

It is worth noting that both copper and sulfur (including lime sulfur) can cause phytotoxicity on certain cultivars. Dr. Patty McManus summarized her research on copper and sulfur sensitivity in cold-hardy grapes in the 2/8/16 Northern Grapes newsletter, and I’ll summarize it to say that Brianna should receive no copper; and Frontenac (all types), LaCrescent, Leon Millot, Marechal Foch, Marquette, and St. Croix should receive no more than 2-3 copper sprays per season. Save those for later when black rot and downy mildew become bigger concerns. Sulfur sensitivity was observed on several cultivars, and its use (including lime sulfur) is discouraged on Foch, Millot, Brianna, and Louise Swenson; with limited (2-3) applications suggested on LaCrescent and St. Croix.

So, if you have removed all diseased wood and are ready to cover your vineyard for protection against phomopsis and anthracnose, the best choices is likely lime sulfur applied at two quarts per acre in sufficient water (25-30 gallons should do it) to wet the canopy. Lime sulfur is hot stuff: caustic, corrosive, and noxious. Use appropriate personal protective equipment and spray in cooler weather to reduce phytotoxicity. Powdered sulfur may also be a good choice, I would suggest 3-5 pounds per acre at this stage.

Petal fall…strep application clarification

By Terence Bradshaw

It helps to read what you wrote after sending. This clarifies a question a grower had for me, now that I’ve re-read things. My post should have read “Fire blight remains a serious concern in any orchard that has open blossoms, apply streptomycin at 24 oz/acre plus 1 pint Regulaid (or other similar wetting agent)/100 gallons finished spray within 24 hours of a wetting event to any trees with open blossoms.”

I originally left the Regulaid out of that statement.

TB

Petal fall

By Terence Bradshaw

Today’s alert will be brief. Fire blight remains a serious concern in any orchard that has open blossoms, apply streptomycin at 24 oz/acre plus 1 pint/100 gallons finished spray within 24 hours of a wetting event to any trees with open blossoms. Organic growers, Serenade and possibly Double Nickel are your best options. That said, some sites have never seen fire blight, so this may be less important in cooler regions like the northeast kingdom or inland Vermont, but this is as big a potential infection event as I’ve ever seen. But remember, no blossoms, no need to treat. Symptoms should be showing next week if infection occurred earlier this week.

That said, and given the heat, spray nothing else until it cools down Sunday or Monday. Many sprays that are applied at this time of year (Captan, sulfur, thinners, many emulsifiable liquids) can cause leaf and/or fruit burn if high temperatures come soon after application.

When you do get in for a petal fall spray after cooler (<85°F) weather resumes, cover up for scab, and include a kick-back material if appropriate and you weren’t covered for these latest infections. NEWA indicates that all ascospores that could cause primary infections are mature and will be released in the next significant rain event but I wouldn’t put 100% faith in that. The European RIMpro model which takes many more factors than NEWA’s scab model into account still estimated 14% immature ascospores, and many orchards had a good bit of inoculum going into 2016, so prepare to stay covered for at least another week or two.

Insects are flying, and as soon as you can get into your orchard with no bee activity get a broad-spectrum material on the whole orchard. Codling moth are flying in virtually every orchard assessed, but their larvae are not yet a concern until moths mate and eggs hatch in a few weeks. European apple sawfly and plum curculio, however, are in most orchards now.

Thinning. I really can’t make a blanket recommendation, nor are any of the other specialists in the region. If you had good bloom, even with some king blossoms missing, and you likely had good pollination, then apply a mild to moderate thinner as soon as it cools off. Only on light-blooming blocks should you avoid thinning altogether. Reassess in a week. For what it’s worth, I intend to cover the UVM orchard with carbaryl only on Monday, then reassess at the end of the week. I know I’ll need to work a bit harder on the Empire and Honeycrisp, less on the Macs. But that’s my orchard. Yours is likely different.

Have a good weekend and feel free to shoot questions my way if you have them.

Northern Grapes News. Vol 5, Issue 2, May 26, 2016

By Terence Bradshaw

http://northerngrapesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NG-News-Vol5-I2-May-2016.pdf

Northern Grapes News. Vol 5, Issue 2, May 26, 2016

In this issue:

Interspecific Hybrid Red Wine Color.

NGP Team Profile: Amaya Atucha.

NGP Team Profile: Francis Ferrandino.

Simultaneous Chemical and Sensory Analysis of Frontenac and Marquette Wines.

Tasting Room Visitor Surveys: Experience with and Enjoyment of Cold-Hardy Wines.

Registration information: cider makers’ and growers’ meeting June 28

By Terence Bradshaw

https://www.regonline.com/cidermakergrowermeeting

Registration for the June 28, 2016 cider makers’ and apple growers’ educational meeting at Woodchuck Cidery in Middlebury, VT is now open. Topics will include: updates on apple production and cider apple economics projects (Terence Bradshaw and Florence Becot); cider marketing (Farrell Distributing Cider Education & Training Manager Jeff Baker); and evaluation of ciders for quality improvement and cultivar selection (Cornell Cooperative Extension Enologist Chris Gerling). There is a $10 fee to cover lunch. The meeting will be held from 10:00-3:30.

Feel free to forward to appropriate parties.

Tentative Agenda:

Cider Apple Production in Vermont:

Field Research and Cider Quality

The Woodchuck Cidery

1321 Exchange Street

Middlebury, VT 05753

June 28, 2016

Agenda

10:00 Apple Cultivar Evaluations for Cider Making

Terence Bradshaw, UVM Tree Fruit & Viticulture Specialist

10:45 Growing Apples for the Cider Industry: Does the Math Add Up?

Florence Becot, UVM Center for Rural Studies

11:15 Roundtable Discussion:
Product, Price, and Promotion: Perspectives on Cider Marketing

Jeff Baker, Farrell Distributing Cider Education & Training Manager (moderator)

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Risk Management

Jake Jacobs, UVM Extension

1:15 Developing Evaluation Programs to Improve Cider Making

Chris Gerling, Cornell University-NYSAES Enology Extension Associate

2:00 Coordinated Evaluation of Ciders

Moderated by Chris Gerling

3:30 Closing Comments and Adjourn

Fire blight risk…again

By Terence Bradshaw

A glitch in the NEWA system while I was writing that last post was preventing the importing of forecast data into the model. Now that it’s fixed, the risk levels look worse that I originally presented. I see that my image links still aren’t coming through via email, but they are on the associated blog post. I won’t post every chart again, but suffice to say that every site in Vermont with open blossoms is at risk this week. Growers would be wise to check NEWA and, again, apply strep to blocks with open blossoms ASAP.

Fire Blight warning

By Terence Bradshaw

Despite my sheepish warning in my last post, it appears that we are in a high risk period for fire blight infection in Champlain Valley and other warmer orchard sites with open blossoms this week. The charts below were generated using a best guess date for the start of bloom and the “fire blight occurred in your neighborhood last year” setting in NEWA. High risk indicates a need for treatment if wetting occurred (and in most sites it did or will), extreme risk indicates that streptomycin application is required to prevent infection. Of course this assumes that you have a local population of the infective bacteria Erwinia amylovera in or near your orchard, and that you have open susceptible blossoms. Adjusting the model to “no fire blight in your neighborhood last year” drops all sites down one category (I.e., from “Extreme” to “High”, or “High” to “Caution”), so adjustment based on historical disease occurrence may be appropriate. Application of strep, especially to highly susceptible cultivars, is recommended at this time for site with high or especially extreme risk. Strep will protect blossoms for 24 hours before and after application, so an immediate spray will cover for yesterday’s and tomorrow’s wetting events. Organic growers may apply Serenade or Double Nickel to reduce fire blight infection, although neither is as effective as strep, which was removed from the approved list of organically-acceptable materials in 2014.

This is also a good time to consider Apogee application to reduce vegetative shoot growth, which could be excessive in this potentially low-crop year. Apogee has no effect on blossom blight, but is effective in reducing the severity of shoot blight symptoms. Dr. Nikki Rothwell recently presented a good summary of use of Apogee in orchards in Michigan which is appropriate for Vermont growers as well.

Important industry survey: Food Safety Modernization Act

By Terence Bradshaw

I don’t wish to burden anyone at this busy time of year with a survey unless it’s important. But this is important. The VT Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (VAAFM) is preparing to roll out implementation and compliance with the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which will affect every farm in Vermont. Program development for training and enforcement is on-going, and VAAFM still doesn’t know how many farms will need to comply with various components of the program.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vtfsma

The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete, and will provide you with some information on your potential compliance requirements with FSMA while helping inform VAAFM to the extent of need for compliance among farms in the state.

Please contact Kristina Sweet at kristina.sweet@vermont.gov or (802) 522-7811 with comments or questions about this survey.