Viticulture News
2011 Grape Acreage Report
Total grape acreage for California in 2011 was 848,000 acres according to the California Grape Acreage Report, released April 17, 2012. Of the total grape acreage, 796,000 were bearing while 52,000 were non-bearing.
The wine-type grape acreage is estimated at 543,000 acres. Of the total acres, 506,000 were bearing and 37,000 were non-bearing. Table-type grape acreage totaled 96,000 acres with 85,000 bearing and 11,000 non-bearing. Acreage of raisin-type grapes totaled 209,000 acres, of which 205,000 were bearing and 4,000 were non-bearing.
The leading wine-type varieties continued to be Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Flame Seedless was the leading table-type grape variety.
Thompson Seedless continued to be the leading raisin-type variety and was utilized for raisins, fresh market, concentrate, and wine.
The entire 2011 California Grape Acreage Report, may be found online here.
Spring Fever
Current weather forecasts predict the San Joaquin Valley may experience alternating periods of cool and warm temperatures in the next few weeks. Such conditions may lead to the development of weather-related disorder known as “spring fever”. On vines with spring fever, basal leaves will become chlorotic, with green leaf-color fading first from the leaf margins, and then progressing inwards, towards primary and secondary veins (Figure 1 shows a variety of spring fever symptoms). Also, leaf margins will curl upward, and they may become necrotic. Severely affected leaves may fall from the vine. As the weather becomes warmer and less variable—typically before bloom—the vines will grow out of this condition, normally without any lasting effects on productivity.
The symptoms of spring fever resemble those of potassium deficiency, so this disorder is sometimes referred to as “false potassium deficiency”. The reason why spring fever and true potassium deficiency induce similar leaf symptoms may be that both can lead to an excessive accumulation of the amino acid putrescine in leaves. However, symptoms of spring fever and true potassium deficiency differ in the time of the season when they are noted, and on the leaves in which they affect. As noted earlier, spring fever symptoms affect basal leaves, and symptoms will usually disappear by bloom, whereas symptoms of potassium deficiency usually begin on leaves from the middle of shoots, no earlier than bloom, and extend to younger leaves. Moreover, vines afflicted with spring fever are not potassium deficient, so mineral nutrient analyses of petiole samples can be used to distinguish between spring fever and potassium deficiency, if there is any doubt. The critical values for bloom samples are 1.0% K or less (deficient) and >1.5% K (adequate).
Heat illness prevention training offered
The first in a series of seminars to help educate farm labor contractors, growers and supervisors about heat illness prevention regulations will be held on Thursday, April 5, in Easton. The training will be held at the C.P.D.E.S. Hall, located at 172 W. Jefferson Avenue, Eaton CA.
Attendees will be able to take what they learn back to their own operations, ultimately educating thousands of farm employees.
California employers are required to take these four steps to prevent heat illness
Training: Train all employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention.
Water: Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink and least 1 quart per hour and encourage them to do so.
Shade: Provide access to shade for at least five minutes of rest when an employee believes he or she needs a preventative recovery period. They should not wait until they feel sick to do so.
Planning: Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Standard.
The seminars hope to reduce the problems of heat illness injuries in agriculture by training participants about the dangers of heat-related injuries and how heat injuries can be prevented.
At the conclusion of the seminars, participants receive a certificate, as proof of completion. The agricultural industry encourages farmers who use the services of farm labor contractors to ask for this proof of completion of the heat illness program. This program is not a substitute for any of the state training required to obtain or maintain a farm labor contractor’s license under the law, and cannot be used to meet any of those training requirements.
The Spanish session will begin at 10 a.m.; the English session will begin at 1 p.m.
Additional classes will be held in Tulare on April 12, Bakersfield on April 18 and Modesto on April 26.
For more information, or to register, contact Fresno County Farm Bureau at 559-237-0263 or info@fcfb.org.
Informational handouts on the heat stress prevention regulations are available online at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/HeatIllnessInfo.html. Pocket-sized heat illness prevention tips for employees are available at the Farm Bureau office at 559-237-0263.
Protect yourself from heat illness
New approach to managing Pierce’s disease
A gene fusion research project led by a University of California, Davis, plant scientist delivers a one-two punch to Pierce's disease, a deadly threat to California’s world-renowned wine industry.
The study is set for publication the week of Feb. 20 in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Many disease-causing microbes can evade one defensive action by a host plant, but we believe that most microbes would have difficulty overcoming a combination of two immune-system defenses,” said UC Davis plant sciences professor Abhaya Dandekar, the lead researcher.
He and his colleagues tested this hypothesis on Xylella fastidiosa, the bacteria responsible for Pierce's disease in grapevines. Strains of the bacteria also attack and damage other host plants, including citrus, stone fruits, almonds, oleander, and certain shade trees, such as oaks, elms, maples and sycamores.
The findings further strengthen UC Davis’ standing as a world leader in the science of plant improvement through advances in genetics, genomics, plant breeding and biodiversity.
First noted in California near Anaheim around 1884, Pierce's disease in grapevines is now known to exist in 28 California counties. From 1994 to 2000, the disease destroyed more than 1,000 acres of northern California grapevines, causing $30 million in damages. There is currently no known cure for Pierce’s disease.
In grapevines, Xylella fastidiosa is carried from plant to plant by half-inch-long insects known as sharpshooters. The bacteria infect and clog the plant’s water-transporting tissue, or xylem. Grapevines with Pierce's disease develop yellow and brown leaves and die within a few years.
To block such infections, the researchers engineered a hybrid gene by fusing together two genes that are responsible for two key functions of the plant’s innate immune response: recognizing Xylella fastidiosa as a bacterial invader and destroying its outer membranes, causing the bacteria to die.
The researchers then inserted this hybrid gene into grapevines.
They found that sap from plants genetically engineered with the hybrid gene effectively killed Xylella fastidiosa in the laboratory. And grapevines engineered to carry the hybrid gene had significantly less leaf scorching and xylem clogging, indicating resistance to Pierce’s disease.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborated on the project. Funding came from the state Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pierce’s Disease Program, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pesticide Safety Training Certification Program
UC IPM Announces 2012 Dates for Pesticide Safety Training Certification Program
California state regulations and the Federal Worker Protection Standard require fieldworkers and pesticide handlers to receive pesticide safety training according to specific criteria. The trainings must be given in a language that the worker understands and must be done by certified trainers.
Several opportunities exist to become certified to conduct these pesticide safety trainings, or to get a refresher if you are already a certified trainer. These trainings are approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR).
All trainings will be conducted by Lisa Blecker, Pesticide Safety Education Coordinator at the University of California Statewide IPM Program. Space in these trainings is limited to 25 people. The cost is $100 and is payable only by credit card and through the UC IPM website.
Trainings last from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Dates and locations of the trainings are:
January 27 - Ventura (Spanish)
January 31 - Napa (Spanish)
February 2 - Modesto (English)
February 7 - Ventura (Spanish)
February 9 - Bakersfield (Spanish)
Continental breakfast and lunch are included.
For questions call or email Lisa Blecker, 530-752-3912, lblecker@ucdavis.edu.
To register online, visit: www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/events
Safe Pesticide Use