By Dr. Patty Skinkis, Oregon State University The NGRA-initiated High-Resolution Vineyard Nutrient Management project, led by Washington State University’s Markus Keller, received second-year SCRI funding this fall. Organized to develop both sensor-based tools to measure in-field grapevine nutrient status and regional nutrition guidelines, the research will help growers to manage vineyard nutrition using precision viticulture. […]
Projects Underway
A Cure for Pierce’s Disease
By Chelsea McCall, Texas A&M AgriLife Research A Texas A&M AgriLife Research study has led to the discovery of the first curative and preventive organic treatment against Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium that causes the deadly Pierce’s disease in grapevines. It’s considered the world’s first. The glassy-winged sharpshooter, the primary vector of Pierce’s disease, feeds on the sap […]
Climate Change (and a Team of Scientists) Revise the Winkler Index
A team of UC Davis researchers led by Beth Forrestel, assistant professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, is working to modernize the Winkler Index, which classifies the climate of wine growing regions and helps growers determine which grape varieties are best suited for a given area. The seminal original work by UC Davis professors […]
Precision Viticulture: Inputs or Outputs?
At the ASEV-NGRA Precision Viticulture Symposium, held virtually on June 21, 2021, two keynote presentations bookended the day. Rob Bramley, a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Australia, opened the event with remarks on “Precision Viticulture and Beyond – Digital Approaches to Winegrowing.” (He noted that “Winegrowing, to […]
2021 Rich Smith Award Presented to Donnie Winchell
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 20, 2021 — The fifth-annual Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was conferred yesterday upon Donniella “Donnie” Winchell, Executive Director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association (OWPA). The award was given in a surprise presentation by the Smith Family, the National Grape Research […]
Red Blotch Research in 2020
In 2020, a number of projects were initiated by teams of enterprising scientists seeking to help stop the scourge of grapevine red blotch virus, a significant and costly disease affecting Western vineyards that, so far, has eluded definitive answers regarding spread and management. Anita Oberholster, extension enologist at UC Davis is leading a project called, […]
Farming Gone Haywire
It’s the end of October. Daylight is waning, the temperature is descending and Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday. (Not to mention the presidential election two days later.) Change is upon us. But these normal cycles of life seem not so normal anymore. If you read grape and wine industry media regularly, you’ll notice a […]
A Dark Harvest
Harvest is usually a bustling, positive time of year, when the fruits of growers’ labors are ripe and ready for the next phase of their journey, whether that’s drying for raisin production, packing and storing for fresh consumption, or pressing for juice or wine. But from coast to coast, this year’s harvest has had a […]
Grant Helps Growers Better Manage Nutrients
By Brandon Schrand WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences Since the 1960s, American grape growers have followed a set of nutrient management guidelines that often entail more guesswork than precise strategies. An industry-driven project called “High-Resolution Vineyard Nutrient Management” seeks to change that. Led by Washington State University’s Dr. Markus Keller, it was one […]
The Truth Is Out There
This month, the NGRA Research Theme Committees began their brainstorming and prioritization process, each with the goal of coming up with one or two ideas that can be progressed into actual research projects. As we dig into the exercise, generating input on industry-needed research, one theme has become bracingly clear. As a community, collectively, we know very […]