Dr. Andy Reynolds, Professor of Viticulture, Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario is one of the foremost experts on the impacts of viticultural practices on fruit and wine quality in North America. His seminars will discuss some of the results of the research he has done in the Niagara region of Ontario, and what those results can mean to growers in their vineyards. His seminars will be applicable to both wine grape and juice grape growers and we encourage everyone interested in grape growing to attend.

The seminar at each site will begin at 6:00 PM and run for approximately two hours. In addition to the seminar on Monday evening, Dr. Reynolds will be available for some individual site visits on the Monday afternoon (September 17), before the seminar, and for much of the day on the following Tuesday: September 18 in Niagara County.

Although there is no charge to attend a seminar, space will be limited so we ask that you reserve your space by calling Linda at 716.672.5296 and letting her know if you would like to attend by September 13 for the seminar at Schulze Vineyards and Winery in Niagara County.

If you would like to arrange for a site visit, please contact Tim Weigle thw4@cornell.edu or call Linda in our office at 716.672.5296. As with the seminars, there is no charge for these visits. Visits will be arranged primarily on a first come, first served basis (with a preference given to members of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program) as well as any consideration needed for logistics in order to maximize the number of visits that can be made in the time available.

Concord Update 9-12-2007
Terry Bates, Cornell Vineyard Laboratory

Concord berry weight and juice soluble solids were collected on 9/11/2007 on 120 fixed node pruned vines at the new Cornell vineyard lab site in Portland, NY. Berry weight continued to increase last week supported by the 1.5-2.0 inches of rainfall over the weekend. Berry weight jumped from an average of 2.53g to 2.65 g in the seven day period, a 4.7% increase. However, the 2007 berry curve remains approximately 10-12% below the long term average. Concord fruit in the region typically reaches maximum fresh berry weight between 90-100 days after bloom; therefore, we should start to see the berry curve flatten in the upcoming weeks.

Although Concord juice soluble solids continued to increase overall, the rate of juice soluble solids accumulation was lower than average for the third week after veraison. Normal juice soluble solids accumulation in this time period averages 0.23 brix/day and the average for 2007 was 0.125 brix/day. I collected soil moisture and leaf gas exchange measurements last week (before the rain) and photosynthesis rates were down 25-75% depending on vineyard water relations. In exceptionally dry vineyards, juice soluble solids accumulation rates were as low as 0.08 brix/day. In vineyards with better water relations and higher photosynthesis rates, juice soluble solids accumulation rates were higher at 0.20 brix/day (not much lower than the 0.23 brix/day long term average). Therefore, the slowdown in brix accumulation last week probably had more to do with the effect of water stress on leaf gas exchange and less to do with the effect of weekend rain on increasing berry weight and diluting brix - although both had an impact.

Grape berry moth damage is showing an increase, especially in the extremely high and high risk vineyards. As we are approaching harvest there is probably little that can be done at this time except to scout your higher risk areas to assess damage levels. With the season we have had with ample sunshine and warm temperatures this may be the year that you can schedule the harvesting of vineyards by risk of additional grape berry moth damage rather than Brix accumulation. If you have vineyards that traditionally have problems with grape berry moth, take a look and if it looks as though GBM will be a problem again this year try to harvest those vineyards, or those rows, early. Once again we are seeing a wide range in larval instars of GBM feeding in the berry. You can see in Figure 1 this later instar larva has been feeding in the grapes for a while now as it has the darker color and much larger size than the earlier instar shown in Figure 2 which is much smaller and lighter in color. This is just another indication that there is the potential for a continued increase in berry damage.

Just another example of why you need to stick your head in the vine and look around. During Andy Reynolds recent visit (for those of you who missed Andy you can still catch his seminar next Monday night in Niagara County - see the Upcoming Events section for more details) we ran across a vine in the Fredonia lab wine block that had some red leaves (Figure 3). My first reaction was possibly a virus. Andy started looking closer and got right into the vine and found crown gall on the trunk which was restricting the flow of water and nutrients (Figure 4a and b) and causing the discoloration of the leaves. Once the gall was found it was easy to isolate the shoot with the gall and associate it directly with the symptom of red-colored leaves we first saw. Another point is to pay close attention to your vines with an eye toward trunk replacement. During our travels this summer Andy Muza and I have noticed a number of locations in vineyards and orchards (particularly peach) where there has been significant trunk damage due to the warm winter temperatures into January that were followed by a lengthy period of bitterly cold temperatures.

Niagara harvest is finally here and work will only become more hectic when Concord harvest begins. Take the time to thoroughly scout vineyard blocks one more time before harvest. Record and map where insect, disease, weed and nutritional problems are observed. During the winter, review this information to plan next season's management strategies.

Finally, finish taking petiole samples before harvest (i.e., approximately 70 - 100 days after bloom) as part of your vineyard nutrition management program.