Virginia Grape Disease Updates

The cold temperature during this winter probably resulted in many trunk splitting or scarring on less winter hardy vines.  I am planning to conduct a quick study on the effect of protective paint on the development of crown gall.  If you have vines with split or scars, especially on the young vines (1-2 years on the ground), please let me know.  It will be one-time application, so, it won't take much of your time.

Our low was low 40's this morning. It suppose to be warmer tomorrow and I hope that we do not get any frost damage. We'll see. We received several disease samples today which I'd like to share with you. The first one is crown gall. This is caused by a bacterium called Agrobacterium vitis . This gall formation is due to genetic modification caused by the bacterium to the infected grape vine. Sometimes it is only a cosmetic damage, but the gall tissue could girdle the vine and restrict the movements of water and nutrients, then results in the death of the vine. There are some chemicals and biological agent available against gall formation and prevention of the disease, but as far as I know, none of them are very effective as you would expect from other chemical treatments such as fungicides. Removal of the infected vine and then replacing with a certified vine is the common method of management. However, you need to keep in your mind that this bacterium can survive i...