No feed in the trough lately, but not to worry! I'm making hay!
First off, powdery mildew has been a problem for many of you this year-and I've been answering a few farm calls related to this. All of the rains we had made for great canopy growth, making it more difficult for spray to reach the target. Leafing and shoot removal can really pay off when that is the case. That, plus ideal spring temperatures of 70-85° (remember those cool days we had? seems a long time ago now...) made it a mildew year. Calaveras Wine Alliance just funded a 7th mildew station (Yeah!) with a Ca. Specialty Crop Grant. That station is located in West Point and it's weather data is currently up and posted at UCIPM. The mildew model will begin running next year at this location. Gubler's Mildew Field Day is Aug 3
If you are interested in the latest mildew fungicide work, Doug Gubler will hold his annual powdery mildew field day this year at 10 a.m. on Aug. 3 at Rio Viento vineyards in Walnut Grove. RSVP to Trang Nguyen at xinguyen@ucdavis.edu if you plan to attend.
After I presented my ET slope work and heard other researchers present their research at the annual ASEV conference in Monterey, I spent a week in Prosser, WA receiving spray application training from Prof. Emilio Gil from Spain. Funded partly by a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE) grant, I was fortunate to be the only California participant in a week long, hands-on training that enhanced my ability to deliver spray tech training to all Gwen Hoheisel, WSU (in red), and Emilio Gil, Catalunya, Spain (in blue) discuss tree row volume calculations.
Prof. Vittorino Novello is coming to the foothills-next week!!
This week I'll be putting the final touches on Professor Vittorino Novello's, University of Turin, visit to our beautiful foothill vineyards. We have two vineyard tours planned, one in El Dorado County on Aug. 2, and another in Amador County on Aug. 3. With sponsorship from the
El Dorado Winegrape Growers Association, the
Amador Winegrowers Association, The
El Dorado Winery Association and The
Amador Vintners, along with UCCE Central Sierra, Novello will spend the week of Aug. 1 touring vineyards growing Italian varieties. The purpose for the visit is for us to learn more about these Italian varieties, how they are grown in their native Italy, and for a cross cultural exchange. The website with tour details is
here and there are still spaces if you are a member of a sponsoring organization and want to sign up. Much thanks to the growers and winemakers who are hosting us.
As a part of his visit, Vittorino will also give an evening seminar, open to the public, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4 at Terra D'Oro in Plymouth. I've asked Vittorino to talk about what he saw on the tours, what varieties he thinks we might try, and also to tell us a little about one of his winegrape research projects he's conducting in Italy. More information on Vittorino is
here and a link to the sign up for his Aug. 4 evening seminar is
here. I hope to see you next week!
