Agenda for Conference: 

Registration/morning refreshments 7:45-8:15 

8:15-8:50- Cold Hardiness and Climate Change

Jason Londo, Associate professor of fruit physiology at Cornell University, will talk about his research on bud dormancy and cold hardiness, which are critical adaptations for surviving winter cold stress for temperate perennial plant species, with shifting temperature-based responses during the winter. This information can be used to refine models predicting effects of climate change on dormancy and cold hardiness in grapevine. 

8:50-9:25 Labor Issues

A reliable and competitive workforce is one of the biggest challenges the agricultural community is recently facing, along with the 2020 changes in labor laws.  Our opening speaker, Richard Stup, Ph.D., Agricultural Workforce Specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension, will address these challenges.  One of the main topics of discussion will be labor concerns and the future of the work force in regard to what the trends in labor are and how those trends will affect grape farms in our region. 

BREAK 9:25-9:50 

9:50-10:30- Lance Cadle-Davidson, USDA, Cornell University.

Research developed through the VitisGen2: New Technologies Accelerate Disease Resistant Cultivar Development will be presented by Lance.  He will talk about how the VitisGen2 project identifies and address threats from diseases.  The program focuses on novel methods to improve disease resistance and improve production efficiency and profitability long term throughout the U.S. table grape, raisin, and wine industry.

 10:30-11:05- Kaitlin Gold, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University.

Katie will discuss Hyperspectral systems for pre-symptomatic agricultural disease detection in Grape IPM, highlighting some of the tools and approaches for Grape IPM.  Katie will talk about the latest hardware and software for remote imaging with future application to digital agriculture and grape production with focus on block rot trial data and known resistances in WNY.

11:05-11:40 Dan Olmstead, NYS IPM, Cornell University.

Dan will be presenting the new NEWA website. Growers across New York State and Erie County Pennsylvania utilize the NEWA website model results to project pesticide management decisions in advance for grape berry moth, powdery mildew, black rot and Phomopsis.  Dan's talk will familiarize them with accessing information on the new NEWA and provide an opportunity for a more in-depth understanding of how the information can be used to make decisions in their vineyards. 

11:40-12:15- Greg Loeb, Department of Entomology, Cornell University.

Greg will be presenting his ongoing research projects include vector-pathogen interactions (e.g. grape leafroll disease and mealybug and soft scale insect vectors, and sour rot in grapes and Drosophila.  His overall goal is to understand the principal forces that influence species interactions involving plants, herbivores, natural enemies and more recently microbes with the specific applied goal of developing novel approaches to pest management with a focus on grapes.

 LUNCH 12:15-1:35 

1:35-2:15- Brian Eshenaur, NYS IPM, Cornell University.

Brian is the NYS IPM lead on Spotted Lanterfly and he will be presenting on the current Spotted Lanternfly infestations, information he has learned from PA and Virginia grape growers' experiences with SLF, and he will also present on the history, basic biology, impact and management of this pest.

2:15-2:50- Eric Clifton, Department of Entomology, Cornell University.

Eric will present Fungal Pathogens Show Promise as IPM Spotted Lanternfly Management Strategies. Spotted Lanternfly is a serious invasive species with current infestations in Southeast Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and now New York.  While Tree of Heaven is its preferred host, grapes have been found to be the preferred crop for this pest.  Eric will present his research on use of native fungal pathogens as SLF management strategies, including trials with commercial biopesticides that use insect pathogenic fungi. Eric will also share some of his work with surveys for spotted lanternfly egg masses in vineyards and the surrounding landscape. 

BREAK 2:50-3:05

 3:05-3:40- Cover Crop Case Study in Concord Vineyard

Jennifer Phillips Russo, the Lake Erie Viticulture Extension Specialist, Bob Betts, Concord Cover Crop Extraordinaire, and Joseph Amsili, an Extension Associate with the Cornell Soil Health Team will discuss a case study of the Betts Farm Cover Cropping Experiment.  The Betts efforts in collaboration with the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program has resulted in an over ten-year long experiment. This talk will discuss the how's and why's of how it was started and where the health of the soil is now.  

3:40-4:15- Understanding Soil & Petiole Tests and Vine Nutrition Terry Bates, CLEREL Director, Cornell AgriTech, Cornell University, will talk about reading and understanding your soil and petiole tests and how they reflect vine nutrition.  Terry's innate ability to break down scientific information into useful chunks that can frame your understanding of complex scientific interactions and how they can work for you and your operations will be front and center.  This information will guide your nutritional strategies and inform your decision making. 

4:15-4:45- MyEV Viticulture Data Collection and Visualization Tool

Nick Gunner- one of the major barriers to adoption for small to medium size grape growers is in having access to spatial data processing. Nick Gunner, with Orbitist, will present and overview of the MyEV tool web-based tool to upload, process, and visualize sensor data to improve your vineyard operations.

Mail In Registration Form (PDF; 169KB)

Agenda for March 16 (PDF; 82KB)