Virginia Grape Disease Updates

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. 

  I think many readers of this blog subscribe to Tony’s viticulture note, but just in case, here is some information that you may be interested in. The second Sentinel Vineyards Report is out now.  The report is attached at the end of this post.  Make sure to subscribe to Dr. Beth Chang’s Blog here:  https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/vtenology/home Two upcoming meetings: New Grower Workshop 4 November 2021 at Winchester VA Team taught sessions for new grape growers and those considering developing a wine grape vineyard in the Mid-Atlantic.  Registration is required ( and the deadline is this Friday! ). Please click the link below.   https://register.ext.vt.edu/search/publicCourseSearchDetails.do?method=load&courseId=1600122 Virginia Wineries Association Annual Meeting November 15 & 16, 2021 Hybrid event: in-person (Richmond, VA) and remote virtual options The technical session theme on Day 2 is “Wine Stabilization – ...

  Please find a link below to download a new disease management guide for non-bearing grapes. As with the other VCE guides, you need to click on the “Preview” icon, which will open a new window, then click on the “Download” icon to obtain a pdf copy. https://resources.ext.vt.edu/contentdetail?contentid=3226&quantity=1&productprice=0&contentname=Fungicide%20Spray%20Guidelines%20for%20Non-bearing%20Vineyards Also, I updated a list of fungicides that you can obtain from home garden centers. I saw several new products, but unfortunately, many of them do not list grapes on their label, so, the list is identical to the old version. If you know of other products that can be used for home gardens, please let me know. Home-garden-fungicides-2021 Download

Upcoming virtual vineyard meetings The viticulture group at the AHS Jr. AREC will be hosting a series of four monthly, on-line viticulture meetings starting Thursday, 22 April 2021. The content of each meeting will vary somewhat and will involve extension specialists who will provide seasonal updates on vineyard management, pest management topics, and emerging weather, pest or disease issues. An initial topic of each of the 4 planned meetings will be a statewide grape development roundup gathered from our “sentinel vineyard” cooperators located around the state. Each meeting will last about 2+ hours, starting at noon.  At this point, the meetings will be on-line, but stay tuned for at least one on-site meeting which we plan to host at the AREC in late-July.  The meeting dates (noon start) are: 1)     April 22, 2021 12:00 PM (EDT) Register in advance for this meeting: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pceigqTMrGdOSA5D6uvJUEfYaVZKLVER7 After registe...

If you wish to attend upcoming grape disease workshops and grapeIPM.org training, please register using this form (CLICK this line) so that I can send you an invitation to the lecture materials.  Grape Disease Workshop (3/31/21):  I prepared a series of lectures to cover basic concepts and terminologies, which I often not able to explain due to the time limitation. Also, a short version of my "usual" workshop is now recorded. In my workshops, I assume you know some concepts and terms, so, if you are not familiar with some terms such as disease triangle, curative fungicide, QoI fungicide, FRAC group, fungicide resistance, biological control agent, etc, please check out the lectures.  Each lecture runs less than 20 min, with an exception of the main workshop content, which runs around 26 min. If you do not have time to watch them all, please watch the main workshop content. On March 31st at noon , we will use Zoom to communicate. The link to the Zoom se...

Updated: Links below are for the 2021 edition of Pest Management Guides. The first one is for home gardens, and the second is for commercial productions. I asked them to provide by chapter (= crop) and they made changes. :) 1) Visit the page by clicking one of the links below. (It is rather a slow page. Please be patient.) 2) Scroll down until you see "Links to individual chapters." Grapes are chapter 3 for both Home (Home Fruits) and Commercial Crops (Grapes) 3) Once you get to the site, click "PDF", then "Preview", and it will open a new window.  4) Scroll down a bit, and click "Download Version" to download the file to your computer.  2021 Home Grounds  Pest   Management   Guide 2021 Horticulture and Forest  Pest   Management   Guide

I have updated my fungicide application template that I have been using for my fungicide guides. If you are interested in it, download it from this link.  This will open a new Google Doc page, which  says it is "View Only"; however, you can download the file. Select "File" from the top menu of Google Drive, and you will see the "Download As" submenu which has several options for the file type. Many thanks to Mr. Bob Romsey who shared the original template with me! Please note that this is just a template. Your program will differ based on what you see in your vineyard(s). Please use it with VCE's Pest Management guide or Southeastern IPM guide (linked under "Resouces"). Speaking of the Southeastern IPM guide, I created modified tables  that consist of a list of commonly used fungicides in the vineyard with their FRAC codes and fungicide resistance risks, and a template for the spray program. I hope these materials will help you organize your ...

Dear all,  If you have a moment, please fill in the survey below. A team of researchers, including myself, is working on a new grant proposal to develop management strategies against various fruit rots including grape ripe rot, which is caused by a series of Colletotrichum fungi.  The aim of this survey to determine what we need to focus our research effort. The project aims not only grapes, but other crops, so, please enter your input so that voices from grape growers will be heard. Thank you in advance for your time. It should not take more than 5 min.       https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d59ecltm2mqbbw1 Best, Mizuho

 I created a short video describing current projects in my program. 

It looks like we will have another wet week coming up. Our Chardonnay is about 50% bud break at this point, thus, I think that many folks south of us are seeing 1-3 inches growth. Once again, a 1-3 inch shoot growth is the timing for Phomopsis management. The forecast tomorrow and this weekend seems to be OK for spraying ( but watch out for the wind! Saturday seems to be a better day ). Also, if it is too windy to spray tomorrow and looking for things to do, we have a short workshop/Q&A session on grapeIPM.org , which is created to help your spray management, from 3 to 4 PM. Please join us in a virtual meeting.

Grape Pathology lab will hold an online workshop on grapeIPM.org, which is a new online database to help you track, manage, plan, record, and report your pesticide usage. You may remember my presentation at the VVA meeting in February.  It will be a 20-min presentation followed with a 40-min Q and A. We will help you set up an account, enter your vineyards and blocks information in the system, and go through basic functions to kick start the season. It will be on next Friday (4/10) from 3 PM. Please use the URL below to register by 4/8 so that we can send you a Zoom link for the meeting. https://forms.gle/Z3Mfx5BBfMmMerTBA In addition, if you find your vineyard management in a bind related to the pandemic, please keep records- a paper trail- of the details. This may be helpful if there is assistance available after the pandemic.

It looks like I forgot to upload my slides from recent extension meetings. So here you go! 1) Slides from VVA meeting on grape pathology research projects and grapeIPM 2) Slides from pruning workshop 3) Slides from IPM workshop 25 March 2020  Note: for #3, I am posting one from yesterday (but not the one from Tuesday) since this one is more up-to-date. As Tony mentioned yesterday, although we do not have a plan for face-to-face meetings at this point, we are available through email. Send me an email if you have questions regarding grape disease management. It would work better if you can send me pictures of affected grapevines. ;)

I cannot keep adding people at this point, so, I closed the registration. I am looking forward to seeing you via Zoom later today!!!

We will have an online grape disease management workshop tomorrow from 1 PM. Thank you for those of you who registered already. You should have received an email this morning. For those of you who registered today, I will send you an invitation email tonight.  We will use the Zoom application ( https://zoom.us/ ), which you can connect via a computer or smartphone, or tablet. In order for us to organize the event, please register using the form below: Registration form for grape disease management workshop on 3/24/2020 Once you receive an invitation to join the conference, please click on the link in the invitation before the meeting. It may ask you to install Zoom application on your computer or smartphone or tablet.

As I presented at the VVA meeting in February, our team has been working on an online disease management aid called grapeIPM.org. The main functions of the system are to help you keep track of your fungicide (and other pesticides) inventory, planning, usage, record-keeping, and reporting. We are in the last stage of the developmental phase, and are welcoming users to test it out. There are some details to be polished, but most of the functions are available. I have been using it in the past two seasons, and I am surprised how it made my spray preparation and record-keeping easier. If you wish to participate, please go to grapeIPM.org and request a new account. It is free for now. If you just want to see how it works, we created a guest account. Username: guestvineyard Password: VitisGu3st If you find some errors or have some comments or suggestions, please let me know. With all the restrictions on the gathering of people, I think it is a very good time for you to think ab...

Virginia Tech is looking for an Assistant Professor - Tree Fruits/Specialty Crop Pathology Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is seeking applicants for a tenure track position in Tree Fruits/Specialty Crop Pathology ( Job No. 511904 ) as part of its SmartFarm Innovation Network faculty cluster hire. The cluster hire of 13 new faculty positions will be filled over multiple years within several academic units and Agricultural Research and Extension Centers. Collaborations of cluster hires and existing faculty will enhance interdisciplinary flagship programs at the nexus of digital, biological, social, and physical sciences and engineering with application to agriculture, food, and natural resources. This ambitious vision will create a statewide network of interconnected faculty, partners, and resources for scientific discovery and developing and deploying new technologies. The goal is to increase overall efficiency, resiliency, sustainability, and economic value o...

My colleagues and I are seeking information on sour rot so that we can develop research priorities (and hopefully obtain grants). Many of us suffer from sour rot (remember the last season?), and we need to get our heads together. If you could fill in this short survey, we really appreciate. It should not take more than a few minutes to complete. It is not just for Virginia, so, please feel free to complete the survey if you grow grapes outside of Virginia. Sour rot survey (will open a new window) Thank you!!

Just a quick reminder about the 66-day PHI for mancozeb products. If you are thinking about harvest at the end of August or early September, we are getting very close to the limit. You can switch to captan or copper, but these two cannot control black rot, thus, you may need to add a DMI or QoI fungicide for black rot. At least in our area, it has been dry (relatively speaking) so, depends on where you are, you may or may not need to be concerned about black rot. I see black rot on leaves sporadically in my vineyards, but not in the level I need to be greatly concerned.

Here's a 2019 version of fungicide application template. Please read the footnote for downloading onto your computer or copy to your Google Drive to use it. This template is designed to be used as a guide. You need to create your own plan based on your vineyard(s)!! If you have time tomorrow afternoon, please join us for our first grapeIPM.org training session , which will be held at Horton Vineyards from 1 PM. It would be a great excuse to visit Horton to taste their award-winning wines!

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 spra...