by Lodi Growers | Aug 16, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Lodi, California winegrape growers have been farming responsibly for generations. An important part of farming responsibly means intentionally taking care of one’s resources. A farmer’s resources include the land, the crop, the ecosystem and...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 24, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Vineyards are populations of grapevines and associated organisms supported by air, water, and soil resources. As such, they constitute ecosystems or perhaps more precisely, agro-ecosystems. While vineyard ecosystems are artificial, rather than natural, they are...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 10, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
At the end of the growing season, grape leaves are changing color. They turn from green to shades of yellow (white varietals) or red (red varietals) – see the Magnesium deficiency symptoms below (Figures 1 & 2). This is the result of the leaf senescence...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 3, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Solving vineyard problems can be a complex and time consuming task, as is deciding how to correct them. The most obvious remedy is sometimes taken to be the most practical while, in reality, it treats the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. In this...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 26, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Not only are irrigation pump inefficiencies just plain bad for the environment, they cost the grower money! No bueno! Each percent of pressure wasted is equal to the additional costs paid in energy. If you waste 30%, you pay an extra 30%. Irrigation Efficiency...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 21, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Did you know that yields within a single grapevine row can vary up to 5x? One factor in this yield variation is irrigation. Poor Irrigation System Distribution Uniformity (DU) has been shown to negatively impact crop yields in numerous studies conducted over the past...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 12, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
The USDA’s NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 6, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Hedging is a summer pruning method involving the removal the distal or apical ends of shoots. In some parts of the world hedging is called topping or tipping. Like all pruning methods, hedging depresses vine growth vigor and capacity. It does so by reducing the...
by Lodi Growers | May 10, 2017 | Blog
In January the Lodi Winegrape Commission hosted a very informative and well-attended workshop on negotiation presented by Jim Olson from the Graduate School of Management at U.C. Davis. Jim is extremely knowledgeable and his presentation was universally well...
by Lodi Growers | May 2, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
If shoot thinning were a book or movie it might be entitled Pruning: The Final Chapter. Quite simply, shoot thinning, which is the selective removal of shoots, enhances the viticultural effects of pruning and in some ways, finishes the pruning job. Here we will...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 23, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Water is going to be the primary carrier of your agricultural chemicals. It will have the job of delivering pesticides to the plant, fungal spores or insect to achieve the goal of protecting your vines. Water quality is determined by chemical properties such as pH...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 11, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
Every Winter grape growers in San Joaquin and other counties in California attend update meetings sponsored by their local agricultural commissioner’s office. At those meetings they learn about the latest in state and federal pesticide regulations, worker safety...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 3, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
The rarity of early season frosts is among the many natural assets of California that lend themselves to winegrape growing. Still, when frosts occur the results can be economically devastating, with low revenues for the growing season due to significant yield loss...
by Lodi Growers | Mar 28, 2017 | Blog, Vineyards
The Lockeford Plant Materials Center is a 106-acre facility located in the Central Valley of California and is the only PMC within the state. There are 27 PMCs around the country, with each one serving a specific ecological and geographic area. The CAPMC addresses the...
by Lodi Growers | Mar 16, 2017 | Blog
Being the World’s Greatest Wine Region Doesn’t End after a Year… What an exciting time to jump into the Commission as your new Executive Director. It’s not often that one walks in the door of a new workplace and new industry as they are celebrating the 25th...
