Virginia Grape Disease Updates

Rescheduled Vineyard IPM Meeting Meets this Friday Date:           Friday, March 21, 2014 Time:          10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location:   The Nelson Center, 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway, Lovingston, VA Contact:     Michael Lachance, Nelson County Extension Unit;  (434) 263-4035 The central Virginia vineyard IPM meeting, originally scheduled earlier this month will be meeting this Friday, March 21 st in Lovingston, Virginia,  located roughly 30 miles south of Charlottesville & 35 miles north of Lynchburg on Highway #29. Dr. Mizuho Nita and Tremain Hatch will conduct this informative, pre-season briefing on how to manage the challenges of the 2014 growing season.  In addition, Dr. Jeff Derr will contribute recommendations for vineyard weed control.  This will be an excellent opportunity to review our past challenges to quality grape production and discuss who improvements can be made regarding plant protection. You have the option of bringing a bag lunch

If you are pruning, and wondering whether you can protect pruning wounds from infections by trunk diseases, t here is a supplemental label of Rally for control of various trunk diseases (Botryosphaeria, ESCA, and Eutypa).  Also we have a special use label of Topsin-M for VA.   You can apply them with a sprayer or as a paint.  It would be a very good idea to use them, especially when you are making a big cut.  The timing of application would be soon after pruning and before a rain. Also, double pruning (early winter rough cut followed by the final cut in early spring) showed to reduce 95% of trunk disease in a CA study.

Here are handouts from 2014 IPM meetings.  IPM Practices in Vineyards (Doug Pfeiffer) Review of grape diseases symptoms and biology (Mizuho Nita) Viticulture Updates (Tremain Hatch) YAN: Its importance and modification in the winery and vineyard (Molly Kelly) Looking forward to meet you at the meetings!!

We will have two IPM workshops this week. At Ingleside vineyard (http://www.inglesidevineyards.com/) on this Thursday (the 6th).  They are located in the northern neck area At Beliveau Estate (http://www.beliveauestate.com/) on this Friday (the 7th).  They are close to Roanoke. If you can make it to these meetings, that would be great. Also, we rescheduled the Nelson county meeting.  It will be held on March 21st.  I think the location will be the same, Nelson county extension office. If you have not done, please check our new Pest Management guides for 2014 season.  The links are under "Resources" at the right hand side of this blog.  I will come up with a 2014 version of my workbook soon.

Due to the inclement weather, we decided to postpone our IPM meeting at Nelson county.  I will post a new date once we come up with one. Stay warm and be safe!