Coffee Shop Blog
Managing Vineyard Mineral Efficiency Beyond the Four R’s
External pressures on mineral nutrient use in vineyards come from several directions. On the one hand, to remain competitive, we need to contain applied mineral nutrient costs even while costs of some fertilizers are being driven upward by the growing global...
Ciatti Global Market Update – September 2015
“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives” was a quote television catchphrase from a long‐running soap opera, which is appropriate for this global market update. With harvest in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, buyers are truing up...
Laboratory Testing for Grapevine Diseases
Some grapevine diseases can be identified easily in the field by signs of the pathogen, which include microscopic and macroscopic microbial cells, tissues, and structures. For example, the appearance of the powdery mildew fungus on the surface of infected leaves and...
Financial Assistance Available for Red Blotch Infected Vines
California winegrape growers with losses due to grapevine red blotch-associated virus (GRBaV), the causative agent of red blotch disease, may be eligible for financial assistance for vine replacement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Tree Assistance...
Comprehensive Vineyard Water Management
Those of us involved in agriculture are well aware of the increasing concerns about water in California. Even before the current drought, new water regulations were in the works, irrigation district water costs were increasing, and in many locations, access to...
Visual ID of Winegrape Viruses
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...
Ag Irrigation in Drought: Where is the Water and Where Is It Going?
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...
Bunch Rot Part II: Sour Rot
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 (sanitation,...