by Lodi Growers | Jul 15, 2014 | Blog, Grapes
Powdery mildew (PM) is a fungal disease that can damage many crops. On most plants, PM appears as white, powdery spots on leaves, shoots, flowers or fruit, which if untreated, can spread over large areas of the leaves and stems and cause reduced yields and lower fruit...
by Lodi Growers | Jul 7, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Updated reports are coming in on harvests around the world. The government projections in Argentina have changed dramatically over the past month. Earlier crop reports had projected a 30% decline in volume, but new reports now estimate only a 6% decline from the...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 30, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Spider mites are found in vineyards throughout most grape growing areas of the world. In California, the primary spider mite pests are the Pacific spider mite, Tetranychus pacificus, and the Willamette spider mite, Eoteranychus willamettei (Karban and Zalom, 1998)....
by Lodi Growers | Jun 23, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Here at Allied Grape Growers AGG, we recently combed through the 2013 Grape Acreage Report published by the California Ag Statistics Service. As we have done over the years, we analyzed every corner of the report, identifying missing acres and creating a better...
by Lodi Growers | Jun 16, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Remote sensing is a valuable tool for vineyard managers to assess several aspects of their viticultural operations, including pest management programs. Remote sensing refers to the use of aircraft or satellites to provide pictures or digital images of vineyards....
by Lodi Growers | Jun 9, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
In 1990 California became the first state to require full reporting of agricultural pesticide use. Under the full use reporting regulations growers are required to report monthly the pesticides they use to the agricultural commissioner of the county in which the pest...
by Lodi Growers | May 27, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Using Aerial Imagery to enhance farm productivity was once out of reach, but it is now much more accessible on a timely basis for an affordable price. When you hear phrases like Color Infrared (CIR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and thermal imagery...
by Lodi Growers | May 14, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
The Lodi Winegrape Commission and the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) are partnering to provide Lodi winegrowers with the latest information about grape pest management. This is the first of several excerpts from the...
by Lodi Growers | May 12, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
The 2014 season started off with Chardonnay budbreak just slightly ahead of average about 6 days, on March 9th. As in 2013 warm daily maximums, but below average nightly lows have allowed for a below average accumulation in Growing Degree Days (GDD). Drought...
by Lodi Growers | May 5, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Vineyard management practices that improve fruit quality are only economically viable if the fruit price is high enough to offset increased costs to growers. For example, cluster thinning can help growers avoid delays in ripening and improve fruit quality, but it...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 28, 2014 | Uncategorized
As 2013 comes to a close, most will remember the year of large crops across the globe and the market that began to shift back to the favor of the buyer. The Southern Hemisphere produced record crops in several markets, and with the exception of France, growers in the...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 21, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
The Soil Roadshow, held on April 14, took 30 local winegrowers on a tour of three different yet common soil types found within the Lodi region: San Joaquin, Tokay, and Corning/Redding. UCCE soil scientist Toby O’Geene and UCCE farm advisor Paul Verdegaal, along...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 14, 2014 | Blog
Many grape growers would like to learn to speak Spanish in order to communicate more effectively with farmworkers who are more comfortable communicating in that language. However, the task of learning a foreign language just seems to be too difficult. This...
by Lodi Growers | Apr 8, 2014 | Blog, Uncategorized
Here are the basic facts of water in vineyards. Water resides in the soil, the atmosphere, and the grapevines. The water in these vineyard elements is interconnected and forms a continuum. In California, after the last spring rain, water moves mostly from the soil to...
by Lodi Growers | Mar 31, 2014 | Blog
Devising strategies for control of powdery mildew is a major focus of winegrape growers and pathology researchers. Many growers rely on nearby weather stations (such as a CIMIS station), the powdery mildew risk index, and other site-specific historical and seasonal...
