by Lodi Growers | Nov 20, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Most of the pest control that occurs in Lodi wine grape vineyards consists of biological control by natural enemies rather than by the use of pesticides. By “natural enemies” I am referring to naturally occurring parasites and predators that are carnivores and eat the...
by Lodi Growers | Nov 18, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
NOVEMBER 18, 2013. BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. Most of us are feeling a bit liberated now that the 2013 growing season is behind us. But before leaving 2013 to history, there may be important things to learn from it to increase the long-term profitability of your...
by Lodi Growers | Nov 11, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The Commission’s team of Coffee Shop contributors is rapidly growing. Today, I’ll introduce yet another addition to our team: Stan Grant. Stan, like Paul Verdegaal, Larry Whitted, and all our Coffee Shop contributors, has the training and experience to bridge the...
by Lodi Growers | Nov 4, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
As the 2013 winds down, the truck numbers becomes fewer and it’s easier to hear the geese and Sandhill cranes travel from the north. The seasons and years seem to go faster maybe from more meetings, reports, regulations and deadlines. Or possibly because the...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 28, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Welcome to part two of a three part Coffee Shop series on understanding and managing trunk diseases in Lodi vineyards. In part one of this series we discussed how to identify trunk canker diseases, practices to prevent them, and management strategies for new and...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 21, 2013 | Blog
Irrigation management affects the quality of winegrapes (Chapman et al. 2005). Achieving quality standards is essential for economic viability, and research conducted by the Commission’s Matthew Hoffman and his UC Davis colleagues found that winegrowers in Lodi,...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 14, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The invasive vine mealybug (VMB) is a carrier of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GRLaV) and, therefore, among the most damaging grapevine pests in the United States. While a variety of chemical and biological controls have been developed to target the VMB, none...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 7, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
All winegrape growers know what frost is, but not everyone understands the physics behind how it develops. Such an understanding is useful when figuring out how to protect your vines from frost damage. This article was written by Steve Hammersmith, president of Shur...
by Lodi Growers | Oct 2, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The newest contributor to the Coffee Shop is Larry Whitted, an independent pest control adviser (PCA)based in Lodi. Larry graduated from the Pest Management Program at U.C. Berkeley in 1980 and now has 34 years of experience as a PCA working with fruit and nut crops...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 24, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
I want to share with Lodi growers and local PCAs this new UC Cooperative Extension library of video interviews with IPM scientists, educators, and practitioners. I hope you find this resource interesting and useful. The Integrated Pest Management approach has done...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 19, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Most vineyards in California are likely infected with trunk diseases (wood-canker). The main diseases are Botryosphaeria dieback, Esca, Eutypa dieback, and Phomopsis dieback. The infections are chronic and accumulate over time. Infected vines become less profitable...
by Lodi Growers | Sep 9, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
As our county’s University of California Cooperative Extension viticulture Farm Advisor, Paul Verdegaal is among the most trusted people in Lodi when it comes to advice about vineyard management. In fact, my Ph.D. research found Paul to be the most connected...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 29, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
On any given morning in the parking lot of small town coffee shops across the Country a handful of dusty pickup trucks are parked. Coffee shops have long been a place where farmers gather to catch up on just about everything, especially on things related to...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 14, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
After six months of development, the Commission staff is excited to launched this new grower-oriented website. Thank you for visiting www.lodigrowers.com. This website fills an important and previously unmet need. The site is a “one-stop shop” for information on the...
by Lodi Growers | Aug 13, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Harinder and Ravinder (Bobby) Dhaliwal told me that for them, growing winegrapes is a “hobby”. I spoke with the brothers over lunch one day in July, and it quickly became clear that they are definitely not hobby farmers. Modest and hardworking most accurately describe...
