Skip to main content

GrapeIPM.org training on March 15th at Horton Vineyards

We will hold a training session for GrapeIPM.org on March 15th (this Friday) at Horton Vineyards (6399 Spotswood Trail, Gordonsville, VA 22942). The meeting starts at 1 PM and closes at 3 PM.

  • GrapeIPM.org is our new online database and risk assessment system which allows you to manage your pesticide records and planning. We introduced it to select growers in 2018, and we are extending the invitation to more growers this year.
  • You can assign multiple vineyards or blocks (whichever you wish to call). 
  • The system has a pre-made list of commonly used fungicides (we are working on insecticide now), thus, what you need to do is pick the one you have in your inventory, and enter in the system's calendar. 
    • If you happen to use not-so-common pesticides, we are working on an interface that allows you to enter your own.
  • You can enter the area to be applied and the size of your sprayer, and the system will give you an estimate of how much you need to mix in your sprayer too. 
  • Once you create your plan, you can export it to a calendar (Google or iCal) to share with your co-workers. 
  • When you complete the spray, you check off, and at the end of the season, you can generate a table that meets the EPA's expectation for your record keeping.
  • There is a function to enter your current inventory. If you use this function, you can check what needs to be purchased when you finish your planning for the year.
  • It also helps tracking your other activities and record (e.g., pruning, weeding, growth stage, disease outbreak, etc). 
  • Also, if you happen to have a vineyard close to one of our weather stations, you can connect to it to obtain recent weather information as well.
  • My research associate, Mr. Robert Burgholzer, who is also a vineyard owner, and I will host the meeting to introduce the system and walk you through the functions. 
  • This system is web-based and mobile-ready (i.e., no app to be installed). Make sure to bring your laptop, or tablet, or smartphone so that you can have hands-on experience!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Downy mildew gallery

At Winchester, we had light rain events during the night of 6/12/09, but it was short events and the relative humidity was low (80% or so), thus it probably did not promote any infections. However, we are experiencing continuing favorable nights for downy mildew sporulation (average T>55F, high RH (80-100%)) for 10 days now. Yesterday, we conducted a formal disease assessment, and observed first incidence of powdery mildew for this season. We had plenty of infection events in last two months, so it was not surprising. At this point, it is a trace level of infection on untreated vines. Downy mildew was the major disease so far. We had up to 40% incidence on untreated vines. Next runner-up was black rot. It varies vine to vine, but some of vine had 10-15% incidence. Phomopsis was omnipresent as I expected from early May rain falls, but severity was low overall. We will examine diseases again in the near future, and I will update as the season goes. Here is downy mildew ga...

Season's Greetings!

I hope you and your family have a good holiday season and a Happy (and safe) New Year! Thanks again for your support of our programs. Here are some recent media highlights. 😉 The link will open a new window. AHS AREC promotional video  that highlights some of our activities. The link did not work... It asks you to log in to VT. I will request the IT people to change the setting, but in a meantime, here's the same video. We also appeared in  the Library of Congress project “Winery Workers of Virginia”. One more announcement: I will be moving this blog to a new location ( ext.grapepathology.org ) early next year. I had to make a change due to the email subscription service, which has been terminated.  You do not need to change your bookmark or your email subscription. The URL will be forwarded to a new site and your email subscription has been moved to a new site already. 

Recent downy mildew risk events

 It seems that several rain events have happened over the course of the past two weeks or so. Here is a summary of recent downy mildew risk events, based on the NEWA stations and DMCast. Bristol, VA Fifteen days with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. The latest event happened last Sunday. Floyd, VA Eleven days with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. The last event happened last Friday. Charles City, VA Twelve days with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. The latest event happened yesterday. Central VA Since there was a wide variation among stations, I am listing several around Central VA. Tyro, VA Nine days with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. The latest event happened yesterday. Red Hill and Crozet, VA Only one day with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. Olympic Lake Thirteen days with potential DM infection event(s) since Sept 1. The latest event happened last Sunday. Washington, VA Eight days with potential DM infection e...