Sustainable Winegrowing With Vineyard Team

Vine Mealybug (VMB) is a challenging pest in many vineyards. Growers are increasingly incorporating biological control into their Integrated Pest Management programs by releasing Mealybug Destroyers and Anagyrus Wasps. Brett Chandler, President and General Manager at Associates Insectary explains how these two beneficials help manage VMB populations. The Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is a predator beetle. It feeds on eggs and small stages of VMB. The Anagyrus Wasp is a parasite. It lays eggs inside the Mealybug. The challenge with the wasp is that they are very susceptible to many chemicals and require more specialized conditions to be effective. Brett describes how to monitor for both Mealybug and beneficials, when and how often to release the insects, the best release methods, and how to pair beneficials with chemical control. References: 26: Controlling Mealybug Vectors of Grapevine Viruses 119: Vine Mealybug 101: Species Identification, Lifecycle, and Scouting to Create an IPM Program

The Efficient Vineyard Project uses three phases to help growers improve their farming techniques; Measure, Model, and Manage. Terry Bates, Senior Research Associate at Cornell University in the School of Integrative Plant Sciences and Director of the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, has worked with the Efficient Vineyard Project since 2015 to collect and interoperate spatial data. He knew that growers were aware that variation in the vineyard was important to manage, but they did not know how to work with spatial data. The three phases create a foundation to make data work for each grower. The first phase, Measure, looks at how growers go about collecting data, what sensors they have, and how that data is being collected. The second phase is to Model the collected data to get the best information. And the third and final phase is to Manage through the mechanization of tasks. The program has even released a free My Efficient Vineyard software to make this process even more accessible to gr

If weeds aren’t a top priority in your pest control program, maybe they should be. John A. Roncoroni, Emeritus UC Cooperative Extension Weed Science Farm Advisor and UCIPM affiliate advisor in Napa County discusses his specialty; weed management in California’s Coastal and Foothill premium winegrape growing regions. He covers why weeds should play a more important role in pest control programs, knowing which weeds you have on your property, fire mitigation, and the toughest weeds to control today so you can bolster your weed management program. References: 4/29/2022 Steel in the Field Tailgate Steel in the Field Tailgate 70: Science and Controversy of Glyphosate | Dr. Scott Steinmaus (podcast) John Roncoroni MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Herbicide-resistant weeds challenge some signature cropping systems Napa County UCCE University of California Integrated Pest Management Integrated Weed Management Vineyard Floor Management: Steel in the Field (video) Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO,

Dr. Tarah Sullivan is Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology at Washington State University. In this interview, Tarah discusses how the plant microbiome mirrors the human gut, the ways in which soil microorganisms can alter the bioavailability of micronutrients and metals for plants, why plants in alkaline soils can be deficient in iron when the soil is not, if cover crops can improve soil microbial communities, and what is next for her research. Tarah’s research emphasis is on linking the function and phylogeny of the soil microbiome, specifically with regard to the interactions and impacts on metal bioavailability and soil health. Whether the context is micronutrient availability in the rhizosphere, which confers plant growth promotion and crop enhancement, or in the context of contaminated systems where bioremediation and bioaugmentation are the best options to remediate heavy metals polluted sites, the soil microbiome is key in these biotransformations. Understanding the consortia of organisms and the m

Greg Pennyroyal of Wilson Creek Winery and Vineyards was looking for soil moisture systems and found that the products available in the market were all expensive, proprietary systems that did not meet the needs of small block Temecula vineyards. He partnered with Reinier van der Lee, CEO of Vinduino, to reverse engineer the technology to develop a product that would give the same results for a fraction of the cost. They have expanded this project over the last five years to collect more and more data that can improve irrigation decisions. Today, they can connect the dots between SAP analysis and soil analysis and continue to add more variables. Over collecting data now will allow them to see what things are most actionable so they can develop a system that is economical and implementable for all blocks. Because there is more to irrigation than how much water is put on, the next phases of research will look at how water holding capacity, organic matter, and biological capacity at vineyards under different farm

There are numerous tools and technologies to improve irrigation efficiency but by looking at grower demographics, we can better predict which growers will implement best management practices. Plus, we can learn how to educate all growers to improve adoption. Nicholas Babin, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences at California Polytechnic State University, conducted a two-year study to assess Paso Robles California AVA grape growers’ thoughts around climate change adaptation, irrigation efficiency, practice adoption, and SGMA. SGMA, or Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, is a California state policy aiming to bring over drafted groundwater basins into sustainability in 20 to 30 years. Agencies are established in sub basins like Paso Robles to establish groundwater management strategies for their region. After discovering that the adoption of water management strategies like soil and plant tissue monitoring devices, distribution uniformity tests, and flow meters, was

While many growers are familiar with the Western Leafhopper, they may not know as much about the Virginia Creeper Leafhopper. Houston Wilson, Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside and Director of UC Organic Agriculture Institute has been studying the Virginia Creeper Leafhopper and potential biological controls. Leafhoppers are pierce and suck feeders. The insect removes small amounts of plant material causing a stippling effect on the leaf. This damage reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the vine and can reduce yields. The Virginia Creeper Leafhopper was recently introduced into the North Coast of California where it was discovered that it has no biological controls. Additionally, its life stages are different from the more well-known Western Leafhopper so growers must utilize different management practices to control the pest. References: February 18, 2022 | Avoiding Winter Kill in Young Vineyards Webinar Cal-West Rain Houston Wilson Landscape diver

Consumer demand for transparency and sustainability of their food system is leading to more and more agrochemical restrictions to address concerns for pollinators, noenicitinoids, and drift. Additionally, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investors are putting pressure on the chemical industry to improve their metrics. Pam Marrone, Founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations outlines the market, status, and potential for biologicals in this excerpt from our 2020 Sustainable Ag Expo. Bringing a new pesticide to market can cost upwards of 300 million dollars and takes an average of 21 years. These challenges have big companies looking at new technologies like biologicals. Bringing a biological to market costs five to 10 million and can be accomplished in three to four years. Growers are seeing that using an integrated solution creates a better final product. Biologicals offer new modes of action, the ability to spray up until harvest, and short reentry times. Plus, they can allow growers to improve soi

Maintaining agricultural land can be a solution to climate change. Renata Brillinger, Executive Director at California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN), and her team are working to incentivize sustainable practices like composting, cover crops, and solar pumps at farms. They promote four grant programs that help farmers and ranchers have a positive impact on the planet and their bottom line. The first is to prevent urban sprawl by funding easements to maintain working farmland. The second is to increase on-farm water use efficiency which also reduces energy consumption. The third is to reduce methane emissions in livestock operations by collecting dry manure. And the fourth is to fund healthy soils programs to improve the organic content in soil and reduce the need for synthetic inputs. As of December 2022, there are more than 200 million dollars in grant funding coming online. It is important that farmers apply for funding not only to execute their own projects but to ensure that these programs con

David R. Montgomery defines regenerative agriculture as leaving the land better off and more fertile as a consequence of cultivation. David studied geology at Stanford University before earning his Ph.D. in geomorphology at UC Berkeley. Today he teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems. In this research, he has defined three principles to build soil fertility; minimal disturbance, cover cropping and growing a diversity of crops. David has studied the success of these principles in agricultural systems around the world, from subsistence farmers to large commodity crops in North America. Healthy soils support more crop growth, have less erosion, and even look and smell healthier. The author of three books, David is a wealth of information on how soil life impacts plant productivity. References: 91: Carbon Sequestration (Podcast) @dig2grow (Twitter) Dig2Grow.com Floor Management for Soil H

Imagine improving both the efficiency and safety of your team with autonomous drone vineyard spraying. That is exactly what David Goldfarb and the team at Clos de la Tech are trialing in their vine rows. Although this technology has been used in Japan for a number of years, it is new to the United States. Initially, they looked to drones as a way to scout for pests. Spraying was limited due to the small capacity of the machines. Then an advancement inspired by COVID stadium sanitation standards changed the game. A tethering system was created to attach the drone to a full-sized tank with a lightweight hose. Since FFA standards are still being written for drone spray applications, trials were conducted with water. The Clos de la Tech team found that coverage could be more than sufficient and they look forward to testing this technology more in the future. References: 51: Effective Vineyard Spraying Clos de la Tech  Drone Technology to Spray Vineyards Gains Popularity Pesticide Application Technology at Corn

The first pillar of any successful IPM (Integrated Pest Management Program) is to know the pest you want to manage. Emily Symmes, Entomologist and Technical Field Manager at Suterra, addresses the basics of vine mealybug (VMB) in grapes in this expert from the 2020 Sustainable Ag Expo. VMB are phloem eaters, piercing the trunk, canes, and berry clusters and vectoring leafroll-associated viruses. In high populations, they will weaken the vines and can cause vine decline and death. Their rapid development time and often overlapping generations make using selective pesticides challenging because multiple lifecycles are active at one time. Adding to the management challenge, VMB spread easily by machinery, workers, and birds. Proper species identification is vital to understand biologies and seasonal cycles of the VMB. Monitoring should be managed with both pheromone trapping and scouting throughout the year. Pheromone traps are most effective when placed at the vineyard entrance since VMB come in on machinery. A

UV lamps have been used in the medical field, food processing, and sterilization for 75 years but application on plant disease management only began in the 1990s. UV light is a natural component of sunlight. The most harmful wavelengths like UVC are screened out by our ozone layer. DNA damaging UVB does reach the surface, however, most organisms can utilize blue light to repair the damage.   David Gadoury, Plant Pathologist at Cornell University, is part of a large team of international researchers testing this technology on a variety of crops. Because there can be significant differences in environments, pest pressure, and times of year crops are impacted, it is important to trial this methodology globally. Powdery mildew microorganisms live in a sunlight-filled world so they use the sun’s natural blue light to repair UV damage. More recently, scientists found that UV light for pest management is much more effective when used at night when microorganisms cannot employ the repair process. So far, trials have

How can values, beliefs, and attitudes around irrigation improve water efficiency? That is exactly what a recent California Department of Water Resources (DWR) grant project aimed to discover. Grant recipient, Vineyard Team, worked with 59 growers over three years to conduct irrigation-related behavior interviews, Distribution Uniformity evaluations, and determine if continued interaction (nudges) with the grower would increase the adoption of irrigation best management practices in vineyards. Every participant received a free DU and personalized report of recommendations so the researchers could track which improvements, like replacing plugged emitters, were implemented. Participants were divided into two groups, some with no contact beyond the initial DU test. The other half received regular nudges through phone calls and email calls to see if they had questions and to provide technical information.   Listen in to learn how nudges change irrigation efficiency. References: 108: Using Satellite Data for Irri

Plant SAP analysis gives farmers insight into how the plant can take up and mobilize nutrients. Traditional tissue testing is usually done at the top of the plant, sampling only the youngest leaves. SAP Analysis is actually a pair of tests, comparing nutrients in young and old leaves to see what is being taken up today and how the nutrients are moved around. Test results compare levels in young and old leaves across 24 different nutrients. One important comparison is Nitrogen efficiency, so the farmer can see how much Nitrogen is actually being taken up by the plant and calculate a cost analysis. Learn more about SAP Analysis and also some fascinating research about the relationship between silica, iron, and aluminum in grapevines. References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability 113: Microbial Inoculants for Soil Health Jenny Garley on LinkedIn Making Nitrogen & Potassium Fertilizer Decisions in the Vineyard NEWAGE Laboratories SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Get More Subscribe on Google P

Numerous vineyards have utilized sheep and goats for grazing but most only during the winter. Kelly Mulville was on a mission to design a vineyard for year-round grazing to restore the ecosystem with livestock. The challenge was to find a vineyard design where the animals could not eat the vines. In a partnership with Paicines Ranch in California, Kelley and the team utilized the Watson Training System which holds the cordon wire at 66 inches. The vineyard incorporated nine grape varieties and trialed year-round sheep grazing last summer with great success. Using the sheep will eliminate all suckering and tipping, dramatically reduce fertilization, decrease irrigation use, and lower labor costs. Listen in as Kelley explains the trial process for tips on how to set up your own vineyard for year-round grazing. References: 107: How Grazing Sheep Can Benefit Your Vineyard (Podcast) 113: Microbial Inoculants for Soil Health (Podcast) Grazing Vineyards Paicines Ranch Savory Holistic Management SIP Certified Sust

A healthy soil has hundreds of different species of microbes while a depleted one may only have one dozen. A number of common viticulture practices are not conducive to a healthy soil biology so Dave Olson of Sustainable Growing Solutions is looking at how we can improve soil quality with microbes, ultimately improving plant quality. This process can be foliar with soil inoculations over time. Microbes do not colonize all at once so it important to add them over a period of time so that some will pave the way for others. Dave discusses the best time for applications and the importance of having an objective before trialing inoculants. References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability 112: How Deficit Irrigation Impacts Soil Quality David Olson | dolson@sgs-ag.com | (916) 284-9706 SIP Certified Sustainable Growing Solutions (website coming soon) Top 5 Soil Health Resources Vineyard Team's ‘Juan Navarez Memorial’ Scholarship Water and Nitrogen Use Webinar Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRAD

Deficit irrigation is used in winegrape production to keep berries small and enhance the flavor of wines, particularly with reds. Joan Davenport, Emerta Professor of Soil Sciences at Washington State University says to get an accurate measure of soil moisture, you need to focus monitoring where the roots are. These measurements are ideally taken about 15 to 20 inches from the vines. Deficit irrigation can lead to a buildup of salt and sodium, negatively impacting soil quality. Salts cause root burning and damage to root systems, hurt microorganisms, and prevents calcium uptake. Joan talks about her research project to compare soil quality between Washington vineyards irrigated with snow melt (surface water) versus ground water (water from wells). References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline and Alkali Soils Irrigated Soil Management Irrigation Best Management Practices SIP Certified Vineyard Team's ‘Juan Navarez Memorial’ Scholarship Washington State Universi

Every vineyard has a portion of the property that is non-productive, but are there ways to maximize the benefits of this land? Fintan du Fresne, General Manager and Winemaker for both Chamisal Vineyards and Maine Wines and Christian Rodriguez, Assistant Vineyard Manager at Chamisal Vineyards found the answer to this question with a Miyawaki Mini-forest. Conceived by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, these mini-forests can take be developed in spaces as small as 30 square yards. Development of a coastal oak woodland at Chamisal Vineyards began by excavating three feet down, adding mulch and compost, and planting 400 to 500 native plants at a high density. This process enables the forest to establish three to four times as rapidly as it would in a natural setting. The established forest will not only proffer a habitat for local fauna but, also provide carbon sequestration. The next phase of this project includes a partnership with Cal Poly State University to pipe C02 from the winery into the forest to see how

Vineyard development begins with the soil. Steve Vierra, Director of Vineyard Operation at Derby Wine Estates and Certified Professional Soil Scientist, has developed many vineyards since the 1990s and always begins with a site evaluation to determine what is actually plantable. This includes a deep dive into all aspects of the prospective vineyard including climate, rain fall, aspect, slope, rootstock, soil types, and best varieties to create a self-sustaining vine. The goal is to develop a vineyard that is easy to farm around natural resources and the goals of the business. Steve covers how he evaluates soils with both pits and physical property tests for micro- and macronutrients. Learn about ideal rootstocks and clones for different soil types, plus Steve’s favorite development projects in Paso Robles California. References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability 107: How Grazing Sheep Can Benefit Your Vineyard Biochar: Soil Amendment for Improved Vine Performance and Long-term Carbon Sequestrati