Wines & Vines

September 2018 Distributor Market Issue

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September 2018 WINES&VINES 59 WINE EAST WINE INDUSTRY NEWS T he New Jersey Department of Agricul- ture announced July 18 that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) had been found in Warren County, N.J. That county is separated from Pennsylvania by the Delaware River and is only about 50 miles from Berks County, Pa., where the spotted lanternfly (SLF) was first identified in 2014. In spite of quarantine measures instituted by the Pennsylvania Department of Agricul- ture (PDA) in November 2014, the insect has spread in southeastern Pennsylvania. The quarantine zone now covers a total of 13 counties east of the Susquehanna River and south of the Pocono Mountains. It has been found in small numbers in New York, Dela- ware and Virginia. Because the SLF has increased in both numbers and geographic location, concern about the threat this insect species poses to agriculture and other industries such as hard- woods has also increased among the wine industry, university experts and government agencies. For the first time, researchers from Pennsylvania State University, Temple Uni- versity, Rutgers University, Cornell University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University met at Albright College in Read- ing, Pa., for a "working group" meeting on the SLF on July 16 and 17. They were joined by extension personnel, representatives from the PDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, members of groups such as the Hardwoods Development Council, and individuals from industries including wineries, orchards and landscap- ing firms that have been impacted by the presence of this new pest. According to Heather Leach, an extension associate in entomology at Penn State and one of the organizers of the meeting, 85 people at- tended from eight states. The conference focused primarily on up- dating the current research on the SLF by different universities and the USDA-APHIS. Julie Urban, senior research associate in entomology at Penn State, was one of sev- eral researchers who spoke about the proj- e c t s t h e y a r e c o n d u c t i n g i n d i f f e r e n t locations. She along with Erica Smyers, a doctoral candidate in entomology, Michela Centenari, assistant professor of viticulture, and Michael Saunders, professor emeritus of entomology, have set up a research site in Berks County at Manatawny Creek Win- ery in Douglassville, Pa. This spring the researchers planted 80 three-year-old Chardonnay vines, each one in a netted cage, and after the vines are es- tablished, plan to introduce different densi- ties of adult SLF. The goals are to determine the feeding damage to the vine, long-term damage, amount of yield reduction and the impact of sooty mold (which can occur on the honeydew secreted by the insects as they feed) on the vines. A second project is taking place at the Berks campus of Penn State in Reading. Urban planted 250 one-year-old grapevines and then introduced ten SLF nymphs into the sleeve surrounding each vine. She is test- ing the efficacy of 20 different insecticides, and will check each vine every two, seven and 14 days to count how many SLF are alive or dead. Doug Pfeiffer, professor of entomology at Virginia Tech, suggested that work needs to be done on the behavior and phenology of the SLF and noted that the first egg hatch on May 9 and the first adults on July 12 are occurring earlier in this country than what has been suggested by information from Chi- nese researchers on the SLF. A panel representing industries affected by the SLF included Jenny Metz, vineyard manager at Maple Springs Vineyard in Bechtelsville, Pa. She said that initially they kept the nymphs under control with sprays, but by September she couldn't spray fre- quently enough. She was concerned about the quality of the fruit, the decrease in yields, and the potential longevity of the vines, es- pecially after finding no fruit on the edges of the vineyard. Other members of the panel–Brian Walsh, owner of Salix Springs Landscaping in Mont- gomery County, Pa., Ed Weaver, owner of Weaver's Orchard in southern Berks County, and Wayne Bender from the Hardwoods De- velopment Council–expressed their concerns about the best management practices for tree fruits, berry crops, and hardwoods, since the SLF is a voracious eater of those crops and more than 70 other plant species. After the presentations and discussions, the group brainstormed on potential research priorities and made suggestions for extension projects and for possible regulations. In February, the USDA allocated $17.5 million to help stop the SLF and the Penn- sylvania state budget for 2018-2019 included $3 million for the PDA to work to under- stand, detect and control this invasive pest. It is estimated that the SLF could devastate $18 billion worth of agricultural products in Pennsylvania alone. —Linda Jones McKee Wine East Covering Eastern North America Vineyard Pest Spreading in Eastern U.S. Potential damage from spotted lanternfly could total $18 billion, wine grapes at risk The spotted lanternfly has been found in Pennsyl- vania, New York, Delaware and Virginia.

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