by Lodi Growers | Nov 3, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
The 2015 Harvest came to a close by the second week of October. Harvest began on the earliest date that most anyone can remember. It is an interesting year to say the least, but there have been previous harvest starts in July. Let’s look back on some local...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
I had the great pleasure of attending the 18th International congress on viruses of the grapevine (ICVG) held on September 7-11 in Ankara, Turkey. Every three years, ICVG brings together the world’s best and brightest minds to report on the cutting-edge frontier...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 20, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
The Lodi Winegrape Commission and the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) have a long history of working together to achieve our common goal of communicating research insights about best management practices to Lodi growers. In light of this, the...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 12, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2015. BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. Cover crops provide an array of important benefits to vineyards. These include direct benefits that improve soil tilth, build soil structure, enhance the root environment, limit soil erosion, and modify the...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 29, 2015 | Blog
External pressures on mineral nutrient use in vineyards come from several directions. On the one hand, to remain competitive, we need to contain applied mineral nutrient costs even while costs of some fertilizers are being driven upward by the growing global...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 22, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives” was a quote television catchphrase from a long‐running soap opera, which is appropriate for this global market update. With harvest in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, buyers are truing up...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 8, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Some grapevine diseases can be identified easily in the field by signs of the pathogen, which include microscopic and macroscopic microbial cells, tissues, and structures. For example, the appearance of the powdery mildew fungus on the surface of infected leaves and...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 25, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
California winegrape growers with losses due to grapevine red blotch-associated virus (GRBaV), the causative agent of red blotch disease, may be eligible for financial assistance for vine replacement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Tree Assistance...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 18, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Those of us involved in agriculture are well aware of the increasing concerns about water in California. Even before the current drought, new water regulations were in the works, irrigation district water costs were increasing, and in many locations, access to...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 11, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Visual identification of grapevine red blotch associated virus (GRBaV) may be a useful complement to lab testing of tissue samples. While not meant to replace the results from lab tests, visual identification may prove to be a useful method for quickly and cheaply...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 4, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
California’s historical climate is prone to deep and long-lasting droughts. Even in normal years, most of the precipitation occurs during the winter in the northern, eastern and coastal parts of the state, whereas most of the water demand occurs in the summer in the...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 28, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
This is the second of a two-part article on bunch rot in winegrapes. Last week’s article discussed Botrytis cinerea, including symptoms on various parts of the vine (foliage, canes, berries), the disease’s life cycle, recommended management considerations...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 21, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Many species of microorganisms may infect grape berries, including fungi and bacteria. Several species of these fungi, including Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, A. carbonarius, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, Penicillium spp., Rhizopus arrizhus, and...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 14, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
The American Society of Viticulture and Enology (ASEV) held their 66th national conference in Portland, Oregon on June 15-18. As in the past, I attended this year’s conference as a representative of the Lodi Winegrape Commission and Lodi’s 750 growers. While there I...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 7, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
The extreme drought that has gripped California over the past several years is causing onerous adjustments in the natural and human environments. Agriculture, which uses much of the state’s water, is at the center of many of these arduous responses. The 2015 impacts...