By Mike Hibbard for Cornell AgriTech For more than 50 years, NASA and partner agencies have used satellite imagery to map agriculture worldwide with an eye toward global supply and food security. That technology, however, has largely focused on commodity and row crops. But with the recent launch of a new consortium, dubbed NASA Acres, the […]
Projects Underway
Fruit at First Leaf
By Kyle Freedman, Amanda Lewis, Cristian Collado, Ricardo Hernández and Mark Hoffmann Researchers at North Carolina State University are working on changing a fundamental aspect of grape growing: that new vines require at least two years to produce usable fruit. Their project, called Precise Indoor Vine Conditioning (PIVC), conducted in collaboration with lighting partner Current, […]
Red Blotch: An Old Vector and New Inoculum Confirmed
By Marc Fuchs, Cornell University Red blotch disease was described almost 15 years ago in California as a new threat to the grape and wine industries. Caused by grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV), the disease lowers vine vigor and yield, reduces fruit quality and degrades wine composition, resulting in reported losses of up to $170,000 […]
Saving Wild Vitis: The Conservation of North American Native Grapes Workshop
By the North American Grapevine Conservation Working Group Genetic variation provides the foundation for plant breeding. And in viticulture, the diversity in native North American Vitis species is critical for generating resilient grapevines. For example, numerous cold-hardy North American Vitis species have been used to generate the hybrid “French-American” scions commonly cultivated in midwestern and […]
$10M SCRI Project Seeks to Defy Diseases
A team of researchers received the first round of funding from a $10 million grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) to begin a multi-disciplinary, collaborative project focused on cultivating disease-resistant grapes that can be grown sustainably with reduced pesticide and fossil fuel use. The national, multi-institutional project […]
Nominations Now Open for the 2023 Rich Smith Award
Nominations Due November 16, 2022 Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management, Paraiso Vineyards and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands wine region, was first and foremost a family man, and also a successful grape grower, winery owner and respected colleague. He was a highly effective, collegial and tireless leader whose significant and selfless contributions of […]
Breakthrough! Sulfur-Containing Compounds Are Accurate Markers for Smoke Taint
For years, a class of compounds known as volatile phenols have been used as the sole markers for smoke taint in wine and grapes. But their efficacy wasn’t consistent. Often, wines with high levels of volatile phenols didn’t taste ashy or smoky, while wines with low levels did. With West Coast winemakers in urgent need […]
Rich Smith Award Presented to Tom Davenport
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 26, 2022 – The sixth-annual Rich Smith Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was presented today to Thomas (Tom) Davenport, a retired executive from National Grape Cooperative who has been a leader in fostering and coordinating research on state and national levels. The prestigious award […]
Nutrient Management Survey Reveals Industry Practices
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. […]
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 […]