Favorable weather aids start of San Joaquin County wine grape crop
By CnAgri
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The primary disease threat to San Joaquin County vineyards this spring, as usual, is powdery mildew, Verdegaal says. In fact, by the first of April it already was a concern in some blocks of early Chardonnay. Wet ground, particularly in the lower foothills, in the Delta and sites on heavier soils delayed or complicated efforts of some growers in applying sprays to control the fungal disease.
Despite earlier concerns the El Nino weather pattern might lead to more botrytis shoot blight this spring and possibly Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, these fungal diseases haven’t posed much of problem for growers so far, he notes.
In 2015, dry weather in January and February contributed to unusually heavy pressure in the vineyards from vine mealybugs. However, the cold temperatures last fall and early this past winter along with the wet weather seem to have kept populations of this pest in check. “No one seems to be concerned about early vine mealybugs this year,” Verdegaal says. “However, conditions have been wet enough that snails have popped up in some vineyards, as can happen in cool, wet years.”
Meanwhile, growers aren’t sure how their current disease, pest and nutrient management programs might be affected by the various new or pending regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements concerning labor rates, worker safety and ground water quality.
“The added costs of complying with these new regulations are especially burdensome on smaller growers who may have to hire people with the expertise to help them with the process,” Verdegaal says.
