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FALL   •   WINTER   •   SPRING   •   SUMMER          New Vineyard Timeline
Grape - Spring Content

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT   •   CULTURAL PRACTICES   •   IPM   •   VINE NUTRITION & SOILS

Coffee, Donuts and Variable Rate Shoot Thinning - All Part of Efficient Vineyard

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July 19, 2017
Coffee, Donuts and Variable Rate Shoot Thinning - All Part of Efficient Vineyard

Coffee, Donuts and Variable Rate Shoot Thinning - All Part of Efficient Vineyard Project
-by Kimberley Knappenberger and Tim Weigle, NYS IPM Program

Dr. Terry Bates of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL) was host to an "on-the-fly" variable rate demonstration at the Wednesday, May 10, 2017 LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting. The extension team holds Coffee Pot meetings every Wednesday during the growing season from early May through the end of July. These meetings are hosted by growers across the Lake Erie Grape Belt, on their farms and in their barns. The LERGP Extension team provides only the coffee and donuts, the agenda is usually set by grower questions. This provides an informal setting for exchange of information and ideas, as well as a means to apply current research results to the issues of the growing season.

The May 10 Coffee Pot meeting was different in that it was held at CLEREL, and was started with a demonstration of a portion of the research being conducted as part of the USDA/NIFA SCRI Efficient Vineyard project. Dr. Bates explained that vineyards can be scanned using NDVI technology (Normalized Difference Vegetative Index) which shows the amount of photosynthetic (green) matter in the vineyard at the time of scanning. During the early season, this accounts for the shoots that are just emerging from the canes and are approximately 2-3 inches in length. With this map in hand, the grower can go into the vineyard and validate the information in each of the zones (i.e. how many shoots are in a low vigor zone or a high vigor zone) by counting the number of shoots on the vines in each of the zones. The shoot numbers can be applied back to the NDVI map and a shoot count map can be created. With this map, and the right technology, a grower can input the data into a field computer in their tractor which will then control the hydraulics of the shoot thinner. The map provides the computer with vigor zones from low to high causing the shoot thinning head to speed up to remove a higher percentage of shoots in the high vigor zones, and where there are less, the shoot thinner will slow down and remove less shoots. The goal of this on the fly variable rate shoot thinning is to create a uniform vine size across the vineyard block optimizing production.

At this meeting, the 30 growers in attendance were shown how the shoot thinner responds to the maps without operator involvement. Rhiann Jakubowski, GIS technician with LERGP, created a "fake map" of the parking lot so the attendees would be able to see how the thinning heads sped up or slowed down according to the zones from the map. The tractor operator then drove through the vineyard providing growers a firsthand look at variable rate shoot thinning. For growers in the Lake Erie region of New York and Pennsylvania, if you are interested in taking the first step toward variable rate management, please contact a member of the LERGP extension team to set up an NDVI scan of your vineyard.

This is the second year that LERGP has been able to perform on the fly variable rate shoot thinning and we are excited to see the results as the season progresses. For more information about the Efficient Vineyard project, please visit our website at efficientvineyard.com. To learn more about the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program please http://lergp.com. The LERGP team has started producing weekly podcasts and the latest podcast has Dr. Bates explaining the whys and how's of shoot thinning that can be found at http://lergp.com/podcasts/ 



Upcoming Events

2024 NYSDEC How to Get Certified Course

Event Offers DEC Credits

April 4, 2024 : NYSDEC How to Get Certified Training Course and Exam Registration
Portland, NY

NYSDEC training course in preparation to take the pesticide applicator exam

LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #1 -Special Spotted Lanternfly Focus

Event Offers DEC Credits

May 1, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
North East, PA

Come learn how to manage SLF when it arrives.  Discussion will be centered around Spotted Lanternfly research, management, experience and best practice for dealing with new and established infestations.  Lunch is provided today.

LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #2

Event Offers DEC Credits

May 8, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
Irving, NY

Come join us for timely and pertinent vineyard discussion, coffee, donuts, camaraderie and pesticide credits.

Announcements

NYWGF visits the Chautauqua Region

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation, led by Executive Director Sam Filler, is thrilled to announce their upcoming visit to your region this April!

During this visit, NWYGF will host an information session about programs affecting our industry. As you may know, NYWGF is sponsoring a Vineyard Survey aimed at gathering accurate and insightful data about grape growing in New York. If you are a grape grower or wine maker in the state, your input is crucial in shaping the future of funding and promotion for the industry. By participating in the survey, you will be contributing valuable data that will help inform decisions about the industry's future growth. We invite you to learn more about the Vineyard Survey, how you can help by providing your data, and how the results will be shared and will support the industry.



The NYWGF team will also be sharing information about our valuable membership benefits and services, as well as giving you an overview of the New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program. The New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program provides a clear pathway for vineyards to achieve certification by implementing regionally defined sustainability standards.

To make the visit even more valuable, a free lunch will be provided.

This is an amazing opportunity to learn more about the exciting developments happening in New York's wine and grape industry. NYWGF is thankful to our partner, American National Insurance, for making this visit possible. This public-private partnership showcases the impact that we can have when we work together towards a common goal.

Commercial Vehicle Awareness slide presentation

NYS Trooper, Matt Luft, presented on Commercial Vehicle Awareness at CLEREL on Thursday, August 2nd.  He has given us the permission to share his slides for you to reference at your convenience to share with others or to review. Please reference this link. 

Straight Talk: Is H-2A Working Out in the Vineyard

Check out the story below.  Our local grower Andy Knight is one of the 3 growers interviewed.

https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/grapes/how-h-2a-is-working-out-in-the-vineyard/

LERGP Podcasts- check them out!

LERGP POD CASTS

LERGPLake Erie Regional Grape Program - Cornell Cooperative Extension
Your Trusted Source for Research-Based Knowledge
In Partnership with Penn State