In memoriam: Don Luvisi

Don Luvisi's research influenced California's table grape industry. Photo by Steve Vasquez

Donald A. Luvisi, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor emeritus of Kern County, passed away in Bakersfield on July 10 at the age of 87.

Luvisi served as the viticulture farm advisor for Kern County from 1960 until his retirement 39 years later in 1999. He was widely recognized as a pioneer of the modern-day California table grape industry and his research influenced a significant expansion in the production of varieties such as ‘Flame Seedless,' ‘Redglobe' and ‘Crimson Seedless,' along with improvements in fruit quality associated with his work with gibberellin, ethephon and girdling.

“He gave table grape growers the knowledge they needed to maximize packable yields by investigating and extending the nuanced production practices specific for each variety,” said Rhonda J. Smith, UCCE viticulture farm advisor emeritus.

Luvisi was widely regarded as an expert in postharvest handling of table grapes due to the impacts of his work on sulfur dioxide (SO₂) fumigation. SO2 is used to inhibit the growth of fungi that can break down fruit in storage. In 1987, SO₂ was removed from the ‘Generally Regarded As Safe' (GRAS) listing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and as a result, residue data and new application patterns had to be developed to prevent grapes from decaying in storage. Luvisi responded through his participation in more than 20 experiments annually that led to the acceptance of the “Total Utilization Fumigation” method and conversion of much of the industry to it from traditional fumigation. The restoration of newly approved postharvest SO₂ fumigation methods was estimated to prevent 40%-50% losses in table grape production that at the time was valued at $200 million to $250 million.

The last decade of Luvisi's career was focused on the evaluation of rootstocks for table grape production. These rootstocks were developed as a response to growers reporting replant problems in second- and third-generation vineyards due to the buildup of plant-parasitic nematodes in the soil. He conducted more than a dozen decade-long trials evaluating the performance of common table grape varieties on these rootstocks that led to guidelines for their use by local growers. The use of soil-borne pest resistant rootstocks has become an industry standard practice within the California table grape industry.

“Don was an internationally respected viticulturist, with particularly broad knowledge of table grape and wine production,” said MatthewFidelibus,UCCE viticulture specialist. “He was also a generous and beloved colleague.”

Don Luvisi was not only an internationally respected viticulturist, “he was also a generous and beloved colleague,” said Matt Fidelibus, shown on left with Luvisi.

After retiring in 1999, Luvisi split his time between Bakersfield and Calistoga, where he managed a family vineyard. When in Bakersfield, he was generous with his time as a mentor to three subsequent UCCE Kern County viticulture advisors, and frequently met with his friends within the table grape industry.

In the early 2000s, he was highly influential in the development of the ‘General Beale Pilot Project' that developed and tested area-wide management programs to control the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a vector of the potentially devastating Pierce's disease of grapevines. His knowledge of the grape industry, combined with the personal relationships he had developed over a lifetime, proved invaluable in establishing this highly successful project that remains effective today.

Following his passing, former UCCE viticulture advisor Jennifer Hashim-Maguire said, “I'm forever grateful for having Don as a mentor and friend. His early tutelage at Cooperative Extension sowed the seeds of a career in table grape production that now spans decades and several countries.

"Luvisi's passion for the advancement of the grape industry was contagious and unsurpassed. As a (wine) grower himself, he understood firsthand the challenges of farming and was eager and generous to share technical information and solutions with growers all over the world. 

"Don's legacy is measured not just in past research conducted and the growers he helped throughout his life, but in his kindness and the numerous relationships he cultivated in the industry from California to Australia, Chile to Greece and numerous places in-between,"Hashim-Maguire said. "The global table grape industry is an interconnected extended family and I know that I'm only one of many who will miss him deeply.”

Luvisi was an “exceptional mentor,” said Stephen Vasquez. From left, Allison Ferry-Albee, Ashraf El-kereamy, Luvisi and Vasquez.

Stephen Vasquez, a former UCCE viticulture advisor who served in Fresno County for 14 years, described Luvisi as an “exceptional mentor” who was always generous with his time and freely shared his knowledge, leaving a lasting impression on Vasquez who was a young viticulture plant pathologist in 1999. 

“As a UC Davis plant pathology grad student working on grape diseases, Don would drive me around Kern County and show me areas with high incidences of grape diseases. We'd look at powdery mildew, measles, bunch and sour rots, etc. and talk about why they were problems in the vineyards we visited. The next time I was in town, Don would drive me around new vineyards and test my knowledge. Often, I would be stumped, and he'd explain the subtleties of the diseases. This scenario lasted for two summers, and I was grateful for the experience.

After completing his master's degree, Vasquez applied for a viticulture farm advisor position in Fresno County. Luvisi was on the hiring committee along with several other viticulture farm advisors. “I was prepared to be grilled. Instead, he questioned me on grapevine disease scenarios with slight twists, which I had been trained to solve the past two summers. Don's plan wasn't to prepare me to be a farm advisor, he saw an opportunity to share his knowledge with someone who was interested in learning,” said Vasquez, who is now executive director of the Administrative Committee for Pistachios and looks for opportunities to share his knowledge with early career scientists.

Funeral services for Luvisi will be held at St. Francis Church in Bakersfield on Tuesday, July 30. Services will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include a visitation, rosary and celebration of life. Burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 1, following a graveside service at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in St. Helena and a celebration of life at Highlands Christian Fellowship located at 970 Petrified Forest Rd. in Calistoga at 12:30 p.m.

Those wishing to honor Luvisi's life through contributions are encouraged to donate to the Don and Mickie Luvisi Agriculture Scholarship at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School. Donations to the scholarship fund can be made online at this link: https://www.convergepay.com/hosted-payments/?ssl_txn_auth_token=rc5FKo1YQV%2Bt0Vk%2F%2F5PGSQAAAY2E3mHg#!/payment-method. At checkout, specify “Scholarship” in the “Select Donation” field, then type in “Luvisi Scholarship” in the “Description” field.

Checks can be made to Calistoga Joint Unified School District with “Luvisi Scholarship Fund” in the memo line. Those can be mailed to 1520 Lake Street, Calistoga, CA 94515. For more information, please contact Carla Surber at csurber@calistogajusd.org.

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