Coffee Shop Blog
SOME COMMON VITICULTURAL BAND-AIDS
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...
IRRIGATION PUMP EFFICIENCY & more
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...
IRRIGATION DISTRIBUTION UNIFORMITY
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...
USDA NRCS EQIP Funding
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 related...
TO HEDGE OR NOT TO HEDGE?
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...
WHEN NEGOTIATION DOESN’T WORK
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...
GRAPEVINE SHOOT THINNING FOR MULTIPLE BENEFITS
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...
PH AND WATER QUALITY EFFECT ON PESTICIDE SPRAY SOLUTION
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...
