Coffee Shop Blog
Late-season Mite Infestations and Management
Every year in Lodi there are a few vineyards that have a late-season infestation of spider mites, especially the Pacific spider mite. By late-season I mean late August or September. Typically the grower’s attention during that time period is shifting to harvest and...
How California Farms Measure Up in the 2012 Census of Agriculture: Smaller in Size with Higher Value of Production
The 2012 Census of Agriculture was released in early May 2014. Average farm size continues to grow in terms of acreage and market value of production. However, this trend is not universal across crop category or geographic region. For the crop category of Land Used...
Regulated Deficit Irrigation – Part II
Part I of this series presented basic concepts of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), early season soil moisture management, and the vine component of the soil-vine-atmosphere moisture continuum. In this posting, we will explore the other components of the continuum...
Regulated Deficit Irrigation – Part I
Deficit irrigation refers to the practice of applying less than the full amount of water a vineyard can use. The objective of deficit irrigation is to induce and sustain moderate water stress that arrests shoot growth and limits fruit growth without impacting foliage...
In the Vineyard with Paul Verdegaal: A Dry Year and Pest Update
The official end of the rainfall year shows a total of 10.2 inches of rain for 2013-14 - the driest season in the last 12 years and only slightly ahead of the 1976-77 drought. Fortunately, the last significant rain occurred with perfect timing and in a heavy event...
The Value of Powdery Mildew Resistance in Grapes: Evidence from California
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...
Global Wine Market Update from the Ciatti Company
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...
Spider Mite Control in California Vineyards with Conventional and OMRI-approved Acaricides
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)....
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