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Crop Update - 9/20/2007
Back to the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Home Page   
UPCOMING EVENTS REMINDER:
Announcement:
FREE VACCINES are available for migrant and seasonal farmworkers, in New York State, over 19 years of age and their adult family members. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more information on the who, what, where, why and how!
From the desk of...    Dr. Terry Bates

Concord Update 9-19-2007
Terry Bates, Cornell Vineyard Laboratory

Concord berry weight and juice soluble solids were collected on 9/18/2007 on 120 fixed node pruned vines at the new Cornell vineyard lab site in Portland, NY. As expected, Concord berry weight leveled off around 100 days after bloom at 2.7 grams. This is about 10% lower than 8-year average at this pruning level. Interestingly, the 2+ inches of precipitation between received in the Lake Erie region did not have a noticeable impact on the berry curve (i.e. it did not pump the berries up with water). In the past, we have measured an increase or decrease in Concord fresh berry weight with either excessively wet or dry conditions, respectively. However, this typically does not happen until later in the season when the fruit becomes (arbitrarily speaking) overripe.

The precipitation did have a noticeable impact on vine water status (mid-day stem potential), leaf photosynthesis (gas exchange), and therefore, juice soluble solids (obrix). As mentioned in last week's update, the lack of precipitation was finally impacting vine water relations and decreasing the rate juice soluble solids accumulation. However, the well timed precipitation restored vine water status and brought the rate of juice soluble solids accumulation back up over average rates for the same time after veraison. With sun and high 70's in the forecast, juice soluble solids should continue to increase at or above normal rates in the upcoming week.

In the Vineyard with...  Andy Muza
Refer to the 2007 New York and Pennsylvania Pest Management Guidelines for Grapes.
 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Jody Lasko, District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS
Pennsylvania Grape Growers may be eligible for IPM, cover crop, or nutrient management payments through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The deadline to be considered for the first round of allocations is October 31, 2007. However, growers are encouraged to send applications to their local NRCS office as soon as possible so that fund allocations will reflect local interest in the program. This will also allow adequate time for field visits and updating Conservation Plans and other records.
For more information contact the Waterford NRCS office at 814-796-6760 ext. 3 or e-mail jody.lasko@pa.usda.gov.
EQIP application form is also available on-line at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS/EQIP/PDFs/EQIP_Program_Application_and_Appendix.pdf.
For additional information on EQIP, feel free to visit our website: http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/index.html.
Update from North East, PA   Bryan Hed
Here is a brief update from the lakeshore in North East PA.

Weather:
At our location, we have accumulated 2.61 inches of rain so far in September (compare this with nearly 7 inches of rain during the first 19 days of September last year!). Our gdd accumulation since April 1 totals 2372 through September 19. Surprising is the fact that this is only about 27 gdds ahead of last year. The timing of the heat, high light levels, and dry weather has made a profound difference this year.
Phenology:
Crop maturity is moving along nicely with warm sunny weather prevailing over the foreseeable future. Concord are weighing in at 16 brix at our location, placing us about 3 degree brix ahead of last year at this same time.

Diseases:
In spite of the weather, sour rots and Botrytis continue to take their toll on wine varieties with extremely tight clusters like Vignoles. Currently we observe a 24 % crop loss on our Vignoles where no Botrytis specific fungicides were used. Although Botrytis specific fungicides (Vangard, Elevate, Rovral, Endura) will not control sour rot fungi and bacteria, they are contributing to a 56 % reduction in the overall level of rots (total rot) in our Vignoles trial this year. We did not observe this phenomenon last year where number of Botrytis fungicide sprays had little impact on overall rot levels in Vignoles (wetter, cooler conditions that prevailed during the 2006 harvest season that were more conducive to the development of rots of all kinds). In short, Botrytis specific fungicide sprays appear to be having a greater impact on rot control this year than last year, at least at our location. Also, rot susceptible varieties with somewhat less compact cluster architecture, like Chardonnay, have tended to exhibit a greater, more consistent response than Vignoles to increasing fungicidal intervention, whereas Vignoles has tended to exhibit a greater response to non chemical strategies designed to reduce cluster compactness.

Weather Facts   Tim Weigle and Edith Byrne
Fri., 9/21 Sunny with a high near 85°.
Friday night: Partly cloudy with a low near 64°.
Sat., 9/22 A slight 20% chance of showers before noon. Partly cloudy with a high near 78°.
Saturday night: Mostly clear with a low near 55°.
Sun., 9/23

Sunny with a high near 73°.
Sunday night: Mostly clear with a low near 55°.
Mon., 9/24 Sunny with a high near 80°.
Monday night: Mostly clear with a low near 60°.
Tues., 9/25 A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy with a high near 79°.
Tuesday night: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy with a low near 62°.
Wed., 9/26 A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy with a high near 75°.
Weather Facts Information: through Wednesday 9/19/2007
Date
High
Low
Pct.
GDDs
accum.
Jan. GDDs
Apr. GDDs
9/19/07
80
58
0
19
2647
2598
9/19/06
68
57
0.85
12.5
2602.5
2583
9/19/05
77
58
0
17.5
2889
2863.5
  Jan. accum. Apr. accum. per/day accum.
Average GDDs: 2448.66 2424.94 12.60
September Precipitation: 2.22"  
Average Precipitation (September) 4.25"  
Year-to-Date Precipitation 21.44"  
Average Year-to-Date Precip. (Jan - August) 23.87" (behind 4.65")
Average April through August Precip. 16.67" (behind 6.69")
Average High 72.1°    
Average Low 53.1°    
As of 9/19:
15.7 Days ahead Jan. 1 Average 13.7 Days ahead Apr. 1 Average
1.2 Days ahead 2006 (Apr. 1) 21.1 Days behind 2005 (Apr. 1)
As of 9/12:
14.6 Days ahead Jan. 1 Average 13 Days ahead Apr. 1 Average
3.2 Days ahead 2006 (Apr. 1) 13.5 Days behind 2005 (Apr. 1)
As of 9/5:
10.3 Days ahead Jan. 1 Average 8.8 Days ahead Apr. 1 Average
0.1 Days behind 2006 (Apr. 1) 12.9 Days behind 2005 (Apr. 1)
From 8/30:
9.7 Days ahead Jan. 1 Average 8.4 Days ahead Apr. 1 Average
1.9 Days behind 2006 (Apr. 1) 11.2 Days behind 2005 (Apr. 1)
From 8/23:
8.3 Days ahead Jan. 1 Average 6.9 Days ahead Apr. 1 Average
3.4 Days behind 2006 (Apr. 1) 12.2 Days behind 2005 (Apr. 1)


You can follow the DAILY high and low (updated daily) by visiting http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/Dailys2007.htm. Also, from the main weather page (http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/weather.htm) you can navigate to other weather information/pages that we maintain for your information and use.

Phenology Information - 2007:
Veraison 8/18/2007; avg date = 8/24
Bloom 6/10/2007; (average = 6/15)
Budbreak 5/9/2007 - Fredonia West Tier (average = 5/6)

 

 
The weather proverb this week is:
A sunshiny shower won’t last half an hour. . .

Sustainable Viticulture Workbook Project

We continue to hear from growers and are still asking for more volunteers to go through the workbook, answering the questions that pertain to them (and let us know what questions do not pertain to their operation)! Please let us know if you are interested by emailing Edith (emb35@cornell.edu or grape@netsync.net)! We would love to hear from you.

Update - We have met with growers from Chautauqua, Niagara, Cattaraugus Counties in New York and several growers from PA. for this project which is a cooperative effort of growers, processors, the Finger Lakes Regional Grape Program, Long Island Grape Program and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program.

Going over the questions in the workbook typically takes about 90 minutes. Depending on your operation and the type of grapes you are growing doesn't make any difference either - we are interested in everyone's input, no matter how many acres you have. Once you have completed the first phase of going through the workbook and answering the questions scaled from 1 (best practice) to 4 (should look at this practice to see if it can be improved), a follow-up visit is scheduled with a member of the SWCD from your county (they have the money to help with cost sharing) to discuss how you might be able to move the practices that received a rating of 4 to a rating closer to 1 - this is the Action Plan meeting.

The workbook questions are painless, self-reflective and the comments made by growers' are very positive - including how going over the questions makes them think about their total operation, or how they might be able to do or think about something differently, etc.

We have appointments set up with more growers through the month for both the workbook portion and Action Plan meetings... If you are interested in working with us on this project please send Edith an e-mail or give her a call at 716.672.6830 so she can schedule an appointment with you.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
FREE VACCINES are available for migrant and seasonal farmworkers, in New York State, over 19 years of age and their adult family members.

Why Should Your Workers be Vaccinated?
Most migrant and seasonal farmworkers are at risk for infection. They travel to and from countries with poor immunization practices where infectious diseases such as hepatitis are common. They may also be at high risk for chickenpox if the disease is not common in their native country.

What Vaccines are Available?

  • Tetanus and diphtheria (Td)
  • Hepatitis A and B
  • Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
  • Chickenpox (Varicella)
  • Flu (Influenza)
  • Pneumococcal
  • Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap)
We will come to you!
For more information and/or to get your workers immunized Chautauqua residents should call Amy Johnson at the Chautauqua County Health Department at (716) 753-4491. Residents in all other counties should contact Finger Lakes Migrant Health Care Project, Inc. at 1-800-724-0862.
Keep your workers healthy!

Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Extension Team Members:

Andy Muza Extension Agent, Erie County, PA Cooperative Extension (814) 825-0900
Tim Weigle Sr. Area Extension Educator, Grape IPM (716) 672-6830
For any questions or comments on the format of this update
please contact Tim Weigle at: timweigl@netsync.net

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Website is maintained by the NYS Grape IPM Program
412 E. Main Street, Fredonia, NY 14063              Telephone: 716-672-5296 E-mail: Webmaster