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Crop Update - 9/4/2008
Back to the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Home Page (http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/)

UPCOMING EVENTS REMINDERS:

Berry Sensory Analysis Seminar Date: Friday, September 12, 2008 Time: 1:00pm-5:00pm Location: Niagara County Cooperative Extension Large Meeting Room Cost: LERGP Members: $100 / Non-Members: $180 Exciting news! We have managed to convince Dr. Gianni Trioli during his visit to North America to present his Berry Sensory Analysis Seminar in Niagara County. The specifics: The 4 hour seminar lead by Dr. Gianni Trioli of Vinidea Italy will cover several aspects of Berry Sensory Analysis (BSA) as developed by the Institut Coopératif du Vin (ICV). While the session takes place in a classroom environment, elements for field evaluation will be covered including proper sampling procedures using the BSA Score Sheet and how to use the data collected. When following the simple field evaluation rules, the BSA method allows for comparison among data obtained over weeks or years on the same vineyard. Participants will come away with a common language for characterizing grape maturity consistently and in great detail. Contact Nancy Long (npl1@cornell.edu or 315-787-2288) for registration information.

There is a new web page for your information! It lists our NYS Senators/Assembly Members along with their addresses and phone numbers. The link to the page is http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/Legislators.htm. A link to this important information is also on the LERGP Home Page. Please let us know if there is anyone we left off this list!

Grape Integrated Pest Management - Tim Weigle

Downy Mildew

A scouting trip in Niagara vineyards yesterday quickly showed me which vineyards had a good bloom time spray program and those where spray timing or choice of chemicals for downy mildew was not commercially acceptable. While most areas of all Niagara vineyards had some downy mildew foliar infections (much of it browned out due to our warm sunny weather of late), all you had to do was grab a cluster to determine if downy mildew berry infection was present. If berries fell easily from the cluster chances are it is downy mildew, while sound clusters held the berries tightly. A closer look at the berries that fell and the pedicels that they were attached to showed that the pedicel was browned and the berry had a dry pedicel scar – another indication that they were infected by downy mildew.

There is nothing that can be done for existing downy mildew cluster infections and there are no worries about new cluster infections at this time of the year. The biggest concern is keeping enough leaf area to ripen the wood in Niagara vineyards and to keep a healthy canopy to ripen the crop as well as next year’s wood in many Concord vineyards.

Get out in the vineyard and see what is going on and then watch the weather. Downy mildew is an explosive disease that can spread quickly with the right weather conditions. Watch the weather forecast as well as continue to spend time walking your vineyards.

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

We are once again looking for vineyards with high populations of Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle so we can run some research projects on materials for their control. We would prefer having vineyards located in close proximity to the Fredonia Vineyard Lab but the MALB rarely acts in the way we would like it to so all offers of assistance are appreciated.

One way to help predict what population levels of MALB will be in the vineyard this fall is to look at the population levels of its favorite food, soybean aphid. A really good source of this type of information can be found at the IPM PIPE (Integrated Pest Management Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education) web site http://sba.ipmpipe.org/cgi-bin/sbr/public.cgi. This site collects and displays reports from across the Northern United States and Canada on Soybean Aphid levels. The latest report shows soybean aphid levels down in the east and the soybeans reaching a growth stage where large infestations of soybean aphids are not foreseen. So what does this mean for MALB in Lake Erie vineyards? We are still early enough in working with this insect that nothing can be said for certain but in years past when soybean aphid populations have been low in Ohio and Ontario we have not seen a large population of MALB in area vineyards.

Keep in mind that MALB is a beneficial insect until it gets into the grape clusters in the fall and typically does not require an insecticide application for control. Once again, walk your vineyards to see what is out there. This gives you the information you need as well as a bit more time to make the management decisions during a hectic harvest season.

Grape Cultural Practices - Jodi Creasap Gee

In the vineyard

Concord at the Fredonia Lab from 8/29/2008.

As I drove back into the region from a weekend in the Midwest, I could smell the ‘grape’ smell of the Concords! I even tasted a few berries earlier this week, and some were fairly sweet, while others were not so nice on the palate. Many growers are busily harvesting or organizing their schedules, barns, etc. for the days ahead. The forecast looks good until Friday; with veraison having been reached around Aug 23, we are still within that critical 2-week period that’s important for sugar accumulation. We might make it – again, if you know any ways to ward off the rain, now’s the time to pull out all the stops.

The vineyards in which I’ve traipsed generally look good, except for more powdery mildew developing on the leaves. If you are seeing signs of stressed vines – in the form of leaf discoloration, etc. – I encourage you 1) to get soil and petiole samples from the affected areas and 2) look at the trunks of the affected vines. The discoloration may be due to a nutrient deficiency (or possibly toxicity), and I’ve seen many vineyards with old vines that have split, damaged, or galled trunks. These unhealthy trunks reduce efficiency in the vine, as well as overall productivity in the vineyard. Make sure you mark these trunks to be replaced next year.

Weekly History Lesson

After a 2 month hiatus, I reckon it’s time to bring back the research summaries in Cornell viticulture. In light of the days ahead, I’ve chosen and oldie, but a goodie – mechanical harvesting, which revolutionized grape growing in this region tremendously. Although the machines used today vastly differ from the ones used in this study, the idea remains the same.

Grape Harvester Research at Cornell

E.S. Sheardson, W.F. Millier, J.C. Moyer, and N.J. Shaulis

Agricultural Engineering 4:(2)66-71, February 1962

While the harvester described in this summary differs dramatically from harvesters used today, the same viticultural practices remain important. The machine used consisted of a vibrating spiked wheel that shook the cordon wire and a conveyor for fruit collection. The spikes on the wheel could be adjusted to allow for the wheel to move under the trellis wire during harvesting, and the shaker head unit was to be used at the lowest frequency possible to get optimal berry removal during shaking of the wire. Of course, today’s harvesters are much larger, with rods that shake the canopy, and most have bow rods that tend to be gentler on the vines. With the initial prototype, the majority of the fruit was removed as individual berries (between 86 and 91%), and the rest was collected in small clusters. Sugar accumulation in berries “did not affect the character of harvested fruit,” but it appeared as though site, climate, or viticultural practices likely affected the level of damage to the fruit, as did later harvesting. Thus, it was noted that a couple important factors needed to be considered: Wire sag must be kept to a minimum, and support posts must be in good enough shape to handle the weight of the fruit as well as the movement of the machine. Additionally, the Geneva Double Curtain training system arms allowed for up-and-down movement during harvesting and for a desired amount of offset from the posts to facilitate mechanical harvesting. However, it was suggested that the bottoms of “hanging, entangled” vines should be removed to minimize interference with the machine. Finally, separation of materials other than berries was best done using an air fan, although petioles still provided a removal challenge.

I've also seen a lot of powdery mildew infections in clusters and on leaves, not to mention crown gall, downy mildew, and phomopsis infections as well. There's nothing like the end of the year to let you know what you needed to do at the beginning. If you missed key spray times this year, make a note for management of your affected blocks for next year.

"Veraison to Harvest" Newsletter
For those of you who received the "Veraison to Harvest" newsletter last year, it will be available again this year, beginning this week. This statewide initiative led by Dr. Tim Martinson - the statewide viticulture extension specialist - will provide information on what's going on in grape growing regions throughout the state (Lake Erie, Finger Lakes, Long Island, Hudson Valley) during the ripening period, in addition to weekly berry samples from several varieties, including some canopy and fruit management practices. While this is not a statewide "experiment," these samples can demonstrate the importance of canopy management strategies to improve juice and wine quality.

(Link to the "Veraison to Harvest" newsletter.)

DON'T FORGET!
**Upcoming Events – September 12, 2008 Berry Sensory Analysis Workshop in Niagara County**

Berry Sensory Analysis Seminar
Date: Friday, September 12, 2008
Time: 1:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Niagara County Cooperative Extension Large Meeting Room
Cost: LERGP Members: $100 / Non-Members: $180

Exciting news! We have managed to convince Dr. Gianni Trioli during his visit to North America to present his Berry Sensory Analysis Seminar in Niagara County. I strongly encourage wine grape growers and wine makers alike to attend this workshop. Dr. Trioli presented this seminar in the Finger Lakes last year, and many wine makers and growers who have participated in this workshop feel it is highly valuable and worthwhile.

The specifics:
The 4 hour seminar lead by Dr. Gianni Trioli of Vinidea Italy will cover several aspects of Berry Sensory Analysis (BSA) as developed by the Institut Coopératif du Vin (ICV). While the session takes place in a classroom environment, elements for field evaluation will be covered including proper sampling procedures using the BSA Score Sheet and how to use the data collected. When following the simple field evaluation rules, the BSA method allows for comparison among data obtained over weeks or years on the same vineyard. Participants will come away with a common language for characterizing grape maturity consistently and in great detail.

Contact Nancy Long (npl1@cornell.edu or 315-787-2288) for registration information.

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Field Day
Thank you to the growers, processors, field representatives, and Cornell faculty and staff who joined us for the Fredonia Vineyard Lab Field Day last week! The afternoon was a success, complete with discussions of historical research done at the Fredonia Vineyard Lab over the past 60+ years. We thank Drs. Loeb, Landers, Lakso, Cheng, and Bates for their enlightening presentations. Dr. Terry Bates demonstrates vine growth differences due to rootstock selection and soil pH in his wine block study. (left) (Photo courtesy of Dr. Tim Martinson)
Rick Dunst presents summaries of weed research at the Fredonia Lab, as well as disease research reports from Dr. Wayne Wilcox.(Photo courtesy Dr. Martin Goffinet)
Dr. Andrew Landers summarizes years of mechanization technology research from the Lake Erie Region (right), and Dr. Greg Loeb presents advances in entomology (left). (Photo courtesy Dr. Martin Goffinet)
Drs. Lakso (left) and Cheng (right) discuss root development and physiology in the vineyard.(Photo courtesy Dr. Martin Goffinet)
Two Traminette vines (above and below) from Dr. Bates' rootstock, soil pH, and variety study. (Photos courtesy Dr. Martin Goffinet)