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...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 29, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
There’s nothing like tending a nice crop of grapes all season, only to watch a portion of them shrivel and having to drop them before harvest. Berry shrivel has been a malady of some vineyards throughout the West Coast for many years. Several shrivel disorders may...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Erratic budbreak and variable shoot emergence was more common this year than most. At one point in some vineyards, early emerging shoots had elongating clusters and 7 or 8 unfolded leaves while late emerging shoots appeared as tiny green leaf tips between bud scales....
by Lodi Growers | Jun 2, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Grapevine nutrition may not be on the forefront of growers concerns as bud break approaches in the vineyard. However, the drought conditions that have persisted over the past two years in areas of Texas and California will likely effect root growth dynamics, total...
by Lodi Growers | May 26, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
California’s role as the nation’s leading producer of agricultural products is well known. In 2012 California’s farms and ranches accounted for $42.6 billion in output. California produced 15% of the nation’s total value of crop production and 7.1% of the value of...
by Lodi Growers | May 20, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Harvest is coming to an end in the Southern Hemisphere and most volume estimates remain unchanged. The total crop size for all of the Southern Hemisphere should fall short of the 2014 result. Argentina and New Zealand are experiencing the biggest declines in volume,...
by Lodi Growers | May 12, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
Verticillium wilt causes significant losses in many annual and perennial crops in California, but it is a minor disease of grapes. Caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae, it was first detected in grapes in 1973. Disease incidence as high as 15% in certain young...
by Lodi Growers | May 4, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
As of the rainfall total at the end of April, it looks like we are entering a fourth year of drought. This is more severe than the 2007-09 drought and the dry spell from 2002-03. The current rainfall season will end below long term average. However, there has been...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 27, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
California agriculture exported about 26% of its production in 2013 worth $21 billion. The top six destinations for California agricultural exports are Canada, European Union, China (including Hong Kong), Japan, Mexico, and Korea. Most export destinations rely almost...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 20, 2015 | Blog, Uncategorized
It is common, and even recommended, for winegrape growers to collect various types of information, or data, which they then used to make informed vineyard management decisions. PCAs walk vineyards to collect pest monitoring data, which is the basis for pest control...
