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W i n e s & V i n e s J U LY 2 0 1 4 79 WineEast WineEast some of the similarities in injury following the two winters. When did the injury or winter kill occur during the 2013-14 winter? I'm certain that some of the injury occurred as early as the freeze events of Jan. 5-6, 2014, because we were seeing bud kill in tender varieties soon after that. Some of the injury may have occurred as late as March 4, however, when temperatures at the AREC in Winchester dipped as low as 3° F. We noted some trunk splitting in a nearby vineyard in late April. Split trunks appeared to be more common on older, larger trunks than on younger trunks with smaller diameters; multiple-trunked vines often have a mix of live and dead trunks (an argument for multiple-trunk training systems). As with my 2003-04 report, some of this splitting appeared to be due to the drying of trunks and canes of vines injured sometime much earlier (possibly during summer 2013) as the wood was bone dry and completely discolored. We considered that some injury might have occurred as early as Nov. 24-25, 2013, when we had our first real blast of cold air (see temperature chart on page 77). In this case the vines' health was compromised going into the winter, and those in poorly drained sections of otherwise well-situated vineyards may have had some increased "dieback" of shoots and potentially greater winter injury incidence. In addition to the more tender varieties mentioned above, we've also seen injury in Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as more hardy varieties including Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Injury to early budding varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc is perhaps consistent with the notion that these vines might have deacclimated some by early March, in time to be damaged by the cold temperatures March 4. Options for dealing with injured vines I anticipate that we're going to continue to observe injury and damage from the 2014 winter, including collapse of some vines that have gone through bud break and begun to develop a canopy. This can occur when some buds are alive but the regenerative vascular cambium tissue is damaged. The first real hot weather of the season puts a strain on the damaged vascular system, and the new shoots collapse when their transpirational loss of water exceeds the ability of their impaired vascular system to transport water. We also may see a resurgence of crown gall as a result of the trunk and cordon injury. The vines' health was compromised going into the winter, and those in poorly drained sections of otherwise well-situated vineyards may have had some increased 'dieback' of shoots and greater winter injury incidence. WINES & VINES DIGITAL EDITION View this issue on your tablet, smartphone or online at winesandvines.com/digitaledition