Wines & Vines

June 2014 Enology & Viticulture Issue

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32 W i n e s & V i n e s J U n e 2 0 1 4 g R A p e g R O W I n g to diseases. I have often wondered why there always seems to be more information about insects. Is it because there are more entomologists in the world? There are sev- eral chapters—34 pages in all—devoted to leafhopper pests, with separate chapters for the most important species. Management of the various leafhoppers varies depending on the species; this section will help grow- ers correctly identify them and make rec- ommendations about their management. The section about mealybugs has expanded from seven pages in the 1992 edition to 33 pages in six chapters in the current edition, indicating their increased importance. This is particularly true for vine mealybug. This has resulted in a significant amount of research being done, which is reflected in the text. I was pleased to see there is also a chapter about ants, which is a new addi- tion. Ants can significantly disrupt the bio- logical controls for some mealybugs, so it is important to know what species are pres- ent in the vineyard and what might be done to manage them. The chapter about nematodes is similar in layout to the 1992 edition, but with more information presented. For example, there is a significant increase in information about what issues to consider when establishing a vineyard. Furthermore, a new table has been added that presents the host status of many cover crop species for the common nema- tode species. The chapter about vertebrate manage- ment seems to be mostly unchanged from the 1992 edition of Grape Pest Manage- ment. I interpret this as indicating there is not much new information about verte- brate vineyard pests and their manage- ment. One management practice that I could not find in the book was blowing up gopher burrows with injected gas. I am not sure if this is because it does not work or if there are liability issues (e.g. do not try this at home!). The section about vegetation manage- ment contains 10 pages about cover crops in vineyards, a topic that did not even appear in the 1992 edition, indicating their use has greatly increased since that time. Another issue that has significantly increased in importance during the past 20 years is herbicide resistance, another topic that is new to Grape Pest Management. The book ends with a section about pes- ticide application and safety and contains much of the information presented in the 1992 edition. About the only negative thing I can say about the third edition of Grape Pest Man- agement is that it has a soft cover. If it is used extensively, which I am sure will be the case for many people, a book of 609 pages will not last long with a soft cover on it. I still have my 1992 edition, which also had a soft cover, and it is pretty beat up, while the spiral binding is disintegrating. The new edition has a normal bookbinding spine, which is better than the plastic spiral binding of the old one, but the soft cover is going to show wear very quickly. I am sure the authors and the UC ANR Communica- tions Services considered a hard cover and maybe rejected the idea for cost reasons. In conclusion, the third edition of Grape Pest Management is an outstanding refer- ence book that is well worth the $100 cost for anyone who grows grapes in Califor- nia. Dr. Cliff Ohmart is vice president of pro- fessional services for SureHarvest and author of "View from the Vineyard: A prac- tical guide to sustainable wine grape grow- ing." Previously he served as research/IPM director at the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. He has been writing about sustainable winegrowing issues for Wines & Vines since 1998. • Climate Controlled Bonded Wine Storage Facility • Cased Goods, Full Barrels, and Dry Goods • Centrally located in Paso Robles • Unix Inventory System Trucking, Harvesting and Warehousing Available! 3230 Riverside Ave, Ste # 150 Paso Robles, CA 93446 Phone (805) 237-9499 Fax (805) 237-9599 MichaelDusiWarehouse_Dir07 10/25/06 11:49 AM Page 1 THINK OUTSIDE THE BOTTLE Mobile Solutions For Wineries A full suite of mobile marketing tools for wineries, including: Mobile Coupons • Image Recognition on Wine Labels Mobile Websites • SMS • Augmented Reality • CRM Integration Bottle shaped Custom QR Rebates & Loyalty • Social Integration & Referrals Richard Neumann Richard@nxt-wine.com Nxt-wine.com • 707.240.4444 Text: Wine To: 811-811 Full Service Implementations | Age Verifi cation Data Capture Mechanisms | Reporting, Tracking and Analytics Tasting Room Focus Analysis, Best Practices & Trends: A newsletter for managers of tasting rooms, wine clubs and DTC wine sales. 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