Cultural Practices

Just as in humans, nutritional balance within the vine is essential to consistent fruit quality and quantity. How do you balance nutrition in the vineyard? While the majority of nutritional management can be dealt with prior to planting, such as adjusting soil pH and organic matter, vineyard soil management is a continual process and requires monitoring to ensure healthy, productive vines. It's better to maintain proper soil health practices than to try to correct problems when leaf symptoms are visible. How can you keep an eye on vineyard nutrition? Soil and petiole testing will help you monitor nutrients available in the soil and in the plants. We recommend doing BOTH soil and petiole testing to verify that what you have available in the soil is actually getting into the vines. If a petiole test result indicates a deficiency, but soil test results indicate adequate levels of a nutrient, an alternative problem, such as improper soil pH or inadequate water drainage, could be the culprit.
Complete Cultural Practices Winter Content
Kevin Martin, Extension Educator, Business Management

Lake Erie Grape belt low temperatures in Feb 2015 reached -19 to -29 degrees F and this has caused variable damage to fruiting buds of grapevines. Viticulture Specialist, Luke Haggerty, and the CLEREL staff are evaluating the extent of bud damage from several vineyards across the region.
Tim Weigle, Team Leader, Statewide Grape IPM Specialist

Would you like to see the current weather and grape pest information found on NEWA without having to click through the website? Then eNEWA is for you. eNEWA is a daily email that contains current weather and pest model information from a station, or stations, near you. The email will contain; 1) high, low and average temperature, rainfall, wind speed and relative humidity 2) the 5-day forecast for these weather parameters, 3) GDD totals (Base 50F), 4) 5-day GDD (Base 50F) forecast and 5) model results for powdery mildew, black rot, Phomopsis and grape berry moth. The weather information is provided for not only the current day but for the past two days as well.
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I

Choose the regional program that best meets your needs.

Fruit Thinning in Wine Grape Varieties
by Hans Walter-Peterson
Cluster thinning is often employed in wine varieties to help achieve a certain crop load and quality level. The amount of fruit to remove from a given vine is a function of many individual factors, including vine vigor, variety and rootstock, growing season conditions, and even the contract with the buyer. Because conditions in eastern North America can vary greatly from year to year, the need for cluster thinning and the amount to be removed can also change every season. The goal of cluster thinning, then, is to achieve both the quality and quantity parameters that will satisfy both the grower and their buyers.
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I

Seasonal Primer for Grape Production
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I

Soil and petiole testing can provide a clear picture of what is going on in your vineyard. The soil tests will determine what nutrients are available to be taken up by the vines' roots, and the petiole tests will show whether or not the roots are actually absorbing those nutrients. Once you have the soil tests, you have one side of the story, and petiole tests will give you the other side of the vine nutrient story.
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Business Programs
Through its Business Programs, USDA Rural Development provides for business credit needs in under-served rural areas, often in partnership with private-sector lenders.
Please visit their website for more up to date information: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/LP_BusinessPrograms.html
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Images of the Eichhorn-Lorenz Phenological Stages
Adapted from Eichhorn and Lorenz (1977) and Lorenz (1994)
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I

Winter dormancy: winter bud scales more or less closed
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I

Bud swelling: buds expand inside the bud scales
Nitrogen Worksheet
Kevin Martin, Extension Educator, Business Management
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: June 4, 2015
Freeze Damage
Last Modified: February 24, 2015

Lake Erie Grape belt low temperatures in Feb 2015 reached -19 to -29 degrees F and this has caused variable damage to fruiting buds of grapevines. Viticulture Specialist, Luke Haggerty, and the CLEREL staff are evaluating the extent of bud damage from several vineyards across the region.
Beta Testing of eNEWA for Grapes
Tim Weigle, Team Leader, Statewide Grape IPM Specialist
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: February 10, 2014

Would you like to see the current weather and grape pest information found on NEWA without having to click through the website? Then eNEWA is for you. eNEWA is a daily email that contains current weather and pest model information from a station, or stations, near you. The email will contain; 1) high, low and average temperature, rainfall, wind speed and relative humidity 2) the 5-day forecast for these weather parameters, 3) GDD totals (Base 50F), 4) 5-day GDD (Base 50F) forecast and 5) model results for powdery mildew, black rot, Phomopsis and grape berry moth. The weather information is provided for not only the current day but for the past two days as well.
Where in New York Are You? / Some added Resources
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: November 13, 2013

Choose the regional program that best meets your needs.
Fruit Thinning in Wine Grape Varieties
Last Modified: July 22, 2013

Fruit Thinning in Wine Grape Varieties
by Hans Walter-Peterson
Cluster thinning is often employed in wine varieties to help achieve a certain crop load and quality level. The amount of fruit to remove from a given vine is a function of many individual factors, including vine vigor, variety and rootstock, growing season conditions, and even the contract with the buyer. Because conditions in eastern North America can vary greatly from year to year, the need for cluster thinning and the amount to be removed can also change every season. The goal of cluster thinning, then, is to achieve both the quality and quantity parameters that will satisfy both the grower and their buyers.
Seasonal Primer for Grape Production
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: March 14, 2013

Seasonal Primer for Grape Production
Soil and Petiole Testing
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: March 13, 2013

Soil and petiole testing can provide a clear picture of what is going on in your vineyard. The soil tests will determine what nutrients are available to be taken up by the vines' roots, and the petiole tests will show whether or not the roots are actually absorbing those nutrients. Once you have the soil tests, you have one side of the story, and petiole tests will give you the other side of the vine nutrient story.
USDA Rural Development for Businesses and Cooperatives
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: March 13, 2013
Business Programs
Through its Business Programs, USDA Rural Development provides for business credit needs in under-served rural areas, often in partnership with private-sector lenders.
Please visit their website for more up to date information: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/LP_BusinessPrograms.html
Eichhorn-Lorenz Phenological Stages
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: January 20, 2013
Images of the Eichhorn-Lorenz Phenological Stages
Adapted from Eichhorn and Lorenz (1977) and Lorenz (1994)
PHENOLOGICAL STAGES: Winter dormancy
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: January 19, 2013

Winter dormancy: winter bud scales more or less closed
PHENOLOGICAL STAGES: Bud swelling
Edith Byrne, Association Program Educator I
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
Last Modified: January 18, 2013

Bud swelling: buds expand inside the bud scales
Upcoming Events
LERGP Winter Conference Series- 2 Virtual -1 In Person

December 9, 2022
February 9, 2023
March 16, 2023
2023 NYSDEC How to Get Certified Course

March 23, 2023
Portland, NY
This course is to prepare you for the pesticide applicator exam scheduled for March 30, 2023, to be held at CLEREL.
Announcements
Westfield Maid Coop Takes FIRST Place
Westfield Maid Cooperative, one of the largest and oldest marketing grower cooperatives based in the Lake Erie grape growing region, won the top prize in the best new beverage category for its "Good n' Grapey" Concord grape juice pouches, aimed at supplying school cafeterias. Westfield Maid, the state's first New York State Grown & Certified juice processor, was part of the 2019 "Grape-to-School" pilot program that aimed to bring New York-grown Concord grape juice to select school districts across the state. Its pilot product used foil-topped plastic juice cups, which often required storage in schools' already limited freezer space. The new juice pouches are shelf-stable with colorful branding designed to encourage more kids to drink Concord grape juice.READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Spotted Lanternfly Public Service Announcement
Please take a look at this PSA on YouTube. It is narrated by our very own Jennifer Phillips Russo.If you see a Spotted Lanternfly:
1-Take a photo
2-Collect it
3-Squish it
4-Report it
Recorded Coffee Pot Meetings
You may not be able to obtain Pesticide License Recertification points but you can gain plenty of valuable information by watching the coffee pot meetings if you missed them! We have had some special guest speakers sharing valuable information with us!Click the link below for access to all of the recorded LERGP Coffee Pot Meetings!
Recorded LERGP Coffee Pot Meetings
LERGP Podcasts- check them out!
LERGP POD CASTS
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