Sustainable Winegrowing

Today, 40% of the California wine industry does not have a Farm Advisor. Four industry veterans discuss retirements and recruitment for UC Cooperative Extension. Larry Bettiga, long time UCCE Farm Advisor Monterey County, discusses how reduction in staff looks from the perspective of a Farm Advisor. Chris Storm, Viticulturist of Vino Farms covers his experience with Farm Advisors and their import to the industry to assist smaller growers and facilitate research. Dr. Wendy Powers, Associate Vice President, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Cliff Ohmart facilitate a brainstorming session on how the industry can fill this void through PCAs, consultants and organizations like the Vineyard Team and Lodi Winegrowers.

This discussion is an excerpt from the 2020 virtual Sustainable Ag Expo course on Current Status of UC Cooperative Extension - Retirements and Recruitment. Use the link below to register for the course and hear the full discussion between November 9 and December 4, 2020.

• 52: The Long View on Sustainable Winegrowing with Cliff Ohmart (podcast)
• Dr. Wendy Powers, Associate Vice President, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Larry Bettiga, UCCE Farm Advisor Monterey County
• Lodi Wine Growers
• UC Cooperative Extension
• Sustainable Ag Expo
• SIP Certified
• Vineyard Team

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Leading expert Dr. Andrew Landers of Cornell University discusses his more than thirty years of research and development on pesticide sprayer technology to reduce pesticide use through accurate, efficient delivery of the product to the plant.

• 2015 Precision Agriculture Workshop (Video)
• Andrew Landers Webpage
• Effective Vineyard Spraying | Andrew Landers
• Effective Vineyard Spraying Online Educational Module (DPR CE credit available)
• Pesticide Application Technology at Cornell
• Sustainable Ag Expo
• SIP Certified
• Waste Not, Want Not!: Recent advances in technology for the precise spraying of pesticides (Video)

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

A recent study examined the potential of hemp terpene drift from hemp crops planted in close proximity to vineyards in Sonoma County, California. George Sellu, Program Coordinator and Instructor in the Agribusiness department at Santa Rosa Junior College explains the nuances of hemp production from how volatile aroma profiles vary by variety, the lack of studies to show volatiles impact grapes, wind influence on volatile organic compound movement, and smoke taint.

George Sellu joined the SRJC in Fall 2013. He received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Environmental Science with an emphasis in Soil Science from the University of Sierra Leone and a MS and PhD in Agricultural Science/Education from the University of California, Davis.

• George Sellu | [email protected]
• Growing Cannabis in Wine Country: The Shone Farm Project
• Hemp Being Explored as a New Farm Crop in Sonoma County
• Sustainable Ag Expo
• SIP Certified

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

David R. Montgomery defines regenerative agriculture as leaving the land better off and more fertile as a consequence of cultivation. David studied geology at Stanford University before earning his Ph.D. in geomorphology at UC Berkeley. Today he teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems.

In this research, he has defined three principals to build soil fertility; minimal disturbance, cover cropping, and growing a diversity of crops. David has studied the success of these principals in agricultural systems around the world, from subsistence farmers to large commodity crops in North America. Healthy soils support more crop growth, have less erosion, and even look and smell healthier.

The author of three books, David is a wealth of information on how soil life impacts plant productivity.

• 91: Carbon Sequestration (Podcast)
• @dig2grow (Twitter)
• Dig2Grow.com
• Floor Management for Soil Health
• Dirt the Erosion of Civilizations
• Growing a Revolution
• Sustainable Ag Expo
• SIP Certified
• The Hidden Half of Nature

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Dr. Charlotte Decock, Assistant Professor Cal Poly - Earth & Soil Sciences talks about soil management with the goal of capturing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere and sequestering them in the soil. Her teaching and research focus on sustainable fertilizer and soil management in California's specialty crops.

This podcast is a recording from a workshop we co-costed on soil health. As part of California Climate Investments, the California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) Healthy Soils Program distributed $5.8 million in cap and trade funds in 2018 to farming and ranching operations for the implementation of soil health practices that sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This workshop brought together a team of researchers and growers from Cal Poly, the Vineyard Team, J. Lohr Vineyard, and Tablas Creek Vineyard to talk about their Demonstration Project grant from the Healthy Soils Program to demonstrate the benefits of compost application and no-till practices for vineyard operations.

• 28: Understanding Soil Health (Podcast)
• Dr. Charlotte Decock
• The Composting Process
• Compost Rate Calculator
• Floor Management for Soil Health
• Notes on Composting Grape Pomace
• Supporting Soil Health Using Compost | Slides from a talk by Cristina Lazcano & Charlotte Decock
• Sustainable Ag Expo
• SIP Certified

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Some 25 to 30 percent of vineyards in Washington state have nematode population densities that are considered damaging. Nematodes have a slow, chronic negative impact on vine health. Plants have less foliage and visible weak spots in the field.

Inga Zasada, Research Plant Pathologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service is particularly interested in nematode management because Washington is mostly own rooted vines. These vines are highly susceptible to nematodes and farmers need to consider soil health with the imminent replanting of vines in the next 10 to 15 years. Most research on nematodes comes out of California where the nematode populations are different. Current management options are limited to rootstocks or preplant fumigation. Inga and her team are working on practical research for growers including identifying where different types of nematodes are in relation to the vine and a degree day model for nematode life stages so if chemical becomes available it can be used property.

• Electrifying nematodes and pathogens! | Riga, Crisp, McComb, Weiland, Zasad
• How Low Can They Go? Plant-Parasitic Nematode Distribution in a Washington Vineyard | East, Moyer, Madden, Zasada
• Inga Zasada
• SIP Certified
• USDA ARS Horticulture Happenings
• Viticulture Research from Washington State University with Dr. Moyer (Podcast)
• Zasada Lab

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Pierce's Disease is caused by bacteria spread by xylem sucking insects. The bacteria move quickly throughout the vine causing disease which blocks the flow of liquid through the plant. Symptoms of leaf scorching – leaves that are curled and dried up on the edges - show up mid-summer. This pathogen is successful because plant does not recognize that it is there and does not mount a good defense.

Steven Lindow, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of California Berkley is a plant pathologist and microbial ecologist. He and his team are researching other bacteria that can grow in the grapevine that mysteriously sensitize them to the Pierce's Disease pathogen. Once inoculated with the new bacteria the plant induces its innate immune system to combat Pierces Disease. This process works like a vaccine although the bacteria itself does not cause a direct action.

Naturally found in onions, the bacteria can be applied in a spray with a surfactant. Current research indicates that this process will need to be repeated annually. As the EPA considers beneficial bacteria a pesticide, Lindow is pursuing the registration process so this technique can be used commercially.

• Biological Control of Pierce's Disease of Grape by an Endophytic Bacterium
• Caroline Roper, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology & Plant Pathologist, University of California Riverside
• Cell-cell signaling controls Xylella fastidiosa interactions with both insects and plants
• Steven Lindow, Professor of Plant Pathology, University of California Berkley
• SIP Certified
• Use of a Green Fluorescent Strain for Analysis of Xylella fastidiosa Colonization of Vitis vinifera

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

50-million-year-old reserves of humified organic matter are a substance called lignite. It is commonly known as brown or soft coal, a substance usually equated with energy production. Researchers at the Technical University of Dresden have found that this very old, carbon rich plant material has the same building blocks as humus – the organic matter reserves found in soil. Virginia Corless, Chief Growth Officer at Novihum Technologies, explains how reacting lignite with nitrogen has created a new soil amendment to improve nutrient retention, water storage, and the vitality of the microbiome.

While the greatest benefits were expected in sandy soils, it turns out that a small percentage of clay like what would be found in a sandy loam, creates a beneficial interaction. One long-term trial of Novihum found that after 17 years, 90 percent of the original application was still in the soil.

• 53: Producing Compost and Carbon Sequestration (Podcast)
• 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability (Podcast)
• Could Agriculture Bloom in the Desert? Qatar Works to Invent an Innovative Oasis (Video)
• Novihum.com
• Novihum Academic and Field Trials
• Sahara Forest Project Grows Food, And Biofuel
• SIP Certified
• Technical University of Dresden
• Virginial Corless | [email protected]

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Bruce Reisch Professor of Grapevine Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University, specialized in the development of new wine and table grape varieties, as well as new grape breeding techniques. New winegrape varieties need a market niche whether that be versatility, sustainability, disease resistance, climate resilience, or productivity. These traits are achieved with hybrids. Of the more than 60 grape species available, most of the grapes we are familiar with come from European vitis vinifera. Unfortunately, this species offers little disease resistance, but other species have better sources. Developing new hybrids is a 15 to 25 year selection process looking at all attributes from berry size to wine quality plus lengthy trials. Today there is a high acceptance of hybrids and some new ones are even being used in varietal wines.

• Bruce Reisch, Professor of Grapevine Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University
• Cornell-Geneva Grapevine Breeding and Genetics Program
• Grape Selections from the VitisGen and VitisGen2 Projects
• SIP Certified
• Twitter @reischnewyork
• VitisGen2

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

While wineries can maintain business operations during COVID-19, day to day operations look much different than they did the first few months of 2020. Hear how three wineries are adapting to their new way of doing business.

Nathan Carlson, General Manager and Winemaker of Center of Effort Wines shares how they are discovering opportunities and better way to do business from saving on travel with telecommuting distributor presentation to connecting face to face with club members across the nation for the first time through virtual tastings.

Dieter Cronje, Winemaker at Presqu'ile explains the challenges and decreased efficiency of bottling with a smaller crew, plus how they are planning to reopen their tasting room.

Molly Bohlman, Winemaker at Niner Wine Estates explains how they are making team decisions to ensure their entire staff feels safe plus how they are rearranging schedules to maintain social distancing.

These interviews were recorded mid May 2020. Best practices continue to evolve, so please review your local best practices for the latest information.

• 7/15 Strategizing Social Media in 2020 Webinar
• An Opportunity for Innovation: State of the US Wine Industry | Rob Macmillan
• Center of Effort Wines
• Governor Newsom Announces California Winery Tasting Room Reopenings
• Niner Wine Estates
• Presqu'ile
• Resources Regarding Coronavirus and COVID-19
• SIP Certified
• Wine Institute Corona Virus Update
• Wine Marketing Series (Podcast)

Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources.

Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.