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18 WINES&VINES October 2016 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS S acramento, Calif.—Based on the Cali- fornia Department of Pesticide Regula- tion's pesticide use reports through 2014 (the latest year of available data), use of fungicides (including sulfur) and herbicides for California wine grape acreage stayed rela- tively flat from 2010 through 2014, while the use of insecticides showed a slight increase. These trends are attributed, in part, to drought conditions that reduced weed growth and re- duced pressure from powdery mildew and fungal pathogens. However, higher winter and spring temperatures increased insect pest pres- sure, as more generations of vineyard pests were able to reproduce and required a greater number of insecticide applications. Pesticide use report data Overall wine grape acres treated with pesti- cides increased from 8.9 million acres in 2010 to 9.8 million acres in 2011, decreased to 9.3 million acres in 2012, increased to 10.2 mil- lion acres in 2013, but then decreased slightly in 2014 to 10.0 million acres. (The number of acres treated can be higher than the actual number of acres planted because many grow- ers make multiple applications per season.) Reported pounds of pesticide active ingre- dients (AI) applied to wine grapes in 2010 totaled 26.3 million pounds; the figure rose to 29.5 million pounds in 2011, related to sea- sonal weather conditions, then remained fairly stable for three years with 26.8 million pounds in 2012, 26.7 million pounds in 2013, and 26.7 million pounds in 2014. DPR stated that changes in pesticide use on wine grapes are influenced by "weather, topog- raphy, pest pressure, evolution of resistance, competition from newer pesticide products, commodity prices, application restrictions, ef- forts by growers to reduce costs and increased emphasis on sustainable farming." Long-term trends in pesticide use correspond to increases in planted acres of wine grapes over the same time period. DPR said of the 2014 growing season, "Due to another warm, dry year, fungal pathogens were not as big a problem as in previous years." Fungicides Sulfur continues to be the major AI applied in vineyards, predominantly for powdery mildew control. Total reported sulfur use for wine grapes in 2014 was 20.32 million pounds ap- plied on 2.40 million acres. Fungicides (other than sulfur) were applied to about 2.2 million acres of wine grapes in 2014, primarily to control powdery mildew, bunch rots such as Botrytis and sour rot, and canker diseases such as Eutypa. —Ted Rieger Drought Affects Pesticide, Chemical Use in Vineyards TOP INSECTICIDES • Imidacloprid (Admire, Merit) • Abamectin (Solera) • Spirotetramat (Movento) • Methoxyfenozide (Intrepid) • Oils (including mineral oils and organic oils) Data from 2014 based on acres treated and provided by the California Department of Pesti- cide Regulation. (Examples of common product brand names appear in parentheses.) Intervitis Trade Show in Stuttgart Moves to November S tuttgart, Germany—The massive equipment and t r a d e s h o w f o r m e r l y known as Intervitis Interfructa will be held for the first time in au- tumn, taking place in Stuttgart from Nov. 27-30. While continuing to cover grapegrowing, winemaking and other fruit crops, the exhibition and concurrent winegrowers con- ference recently added other spe- cialty crops to the agenda and tacked another word onto its name: It's now Intervitis Inter- fructa Hortitechnica. Held every two years, the event is an international technology trade fair that focuses on cultiva- tion and harvesting technology, processing and process control, filling and packaging technology, and organization and marketing. For North American winemak- ers and growers, the show can provide a valuable preview of many new examples of equipment and supplies, which are tradition- ally rolled out in Europe by Ger- m a n , I t a l i a n a n d F r e n c h manufacturers on the grounds of the Messe Stuttgart before coming across the Atlantic a year or two later. Stuttgart itself offers its own high-quality red wines, the Mer- cedes Benz and Porsche museums and other attractions. The 62nd German Winegrow- ers' Congress will take place si- multaneously, presenting current issues of the wine industry under the theme, "An Authentic and In- novative Approach to the Future: Tackling Climate Change and Glo- balization." The event boasts high- ranking speakers such as Prof. Dr. Luigi Moio, president of the Enol- ogy Commission of the Interna- tional Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). Find more information about attending at messe-stuttgart.de/ en/ivifho. —Jim Gordon