Welcome and Announcements A Sustainable Winegrowing Program update by Joe Browde discussed DPR concerns regarding volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). A component of air pollution, VOC’s are being more stringently regulated in the Central Valley. Pesticides are one source of VOC, and emulsible concentrate (EC) formulations are important contributors. The Sustainable Winegrowing Program’s new Air Quality chapter helps address the issues proactively for us who are not dealing with outright regulation today. The vine mealybug sniffer dog project was in the news May 27th in a Press Democrat article by Tim Tesconi.Review Cooperator’s Blocka) Russian River Appellation—Host Dennis Devitt at Laguna Ranch Pinot finishing bloom, very vigorous with decent crop. Using Procure and wettable sulfur on a 14-day interval to get through bloom. One spot of mildew in Cotati, traced to a tractor application problem. Owl boxes occupied. Fertilizing with some zinc foliar sprays. Dennis does not apply potassium sulfate, magnesium, or boron as foliars.b) Sonoma Valley Appellation—Host Pat Herron at Barricia VineyardGetting through bloom very quickly. When temperatures are in the 90’s it takes 2 days for bloom fertilization to complete and fruit set to occur. At more favorable 80-degree temperatures it takes only 6 hours. With the favorable conditions occurring now we are catching up from a slow start in the cooler early spring.c) Dry Creek Valley Appellation—Host Richard Rued at Rued VineyardEverything looking pretty good; a little mildew in the chardonnay down by the creek. Applied oil and Rally 10 days ago, and is going back in now with Pristine after leaf pulling.d) Alexander Valley Appellation—Host Dana Grande at Jordan VineyardFinishing suckering; most blocks more vigorous canopies than desired. Soil moisture monitoring will begin shortly. One spot of mildew found by the guys – an incentive program keeps them alert and active participants in monitoring while they do their other day to day work. FocusWhen to begin irrigation.Chad Vargas mentioned that in comparing this season to past years, we have actually had very little rainfall since March. Established vines are still growing vigorously, younger vines are slowing down.Dennis generally irrigates about 40 gallons per year in the Russian River, and will irrigate at bud push if it’s been dry for 6 weeks. This is in response to the early season boron deficiency issues experienced in 2004. Using a pressure bomb, 8 bars initiates watering for pinot and 10 – 11 bars for chardonnay/viognier. Concerns with watering syrah and the desire to keep berry size small.Marty Hedlund turns on the micro-sprinklers when it’s over 90 degrees from veraison on. This can drop temperature 15 degrees and actually adds very little water. They are dry farmed otherwise.Tom Gore is not using pressure bomb for blocks under 4 years old, relying more on shoot tip growth indicators. Landscape emitters that can be set for variable gallons per acre are used for replants to give them more water than the established vines, then dialed back as the new vines establish. Check your local irrigation supply store or www.agrifimusa.com. Be sure to check the capacity of your system to handle the extra irrigation. Some folks install a second drip line to spot irrigate low vigor areas, or install double emitters in such places. The extra effort can pay off in better vineyard uniformity, quality and yield.Mark Greenspan with Advanced Viticulture kindly provided a copy of the Power Point presentation he made to the Napa Vit Tech group last week. In it, he highlights the importance of not beginning irrigation too early. You need to have ample shoot length, 3 ½’ to 4 ½’ of growth, to begin irrigation, then use your growing tips and irrigation scheduling devices. Utilize cover crops appropriately. With vigorous vines, use cover crops to put a brake on growth rather than just disking them in routinely. With low vigor vines, use them as winter soil builders and then put them under. Later in the season, keep in mind that stressing vines too much does not make better wine. See Mark’s excellent 2 part article in Practical Winery and Vineyard, March/April 2005 and May/June 2005 “Integrated Irrigation Management in California”.Crop setIn general looks good, with virtually no early bunch stem necrosis (EBSN) as was seen in 2005. Chardonnay may be down a little bit, but reports are that even merlot looks pretty good. Some folks are trying molybdenum to improve crop set.Some folks are noticing a big difference between cane and cordon pruned blocks, with cane pruned having better crop. With last year’s cloudy spring, bud differentiation at ’05 bloom that determines ’06 crop may have been affected. Cane pruned blocks may have had enough better light exposure on the wood left for this year’s crop to account for the difference seen by some growers.Tipping canes right around bloom is a practice employed by several growers to help increase set. Shoot growth hormones are produced in the tip, and removing them refocuses the vine’s energy on the crop.Vine balanceCanopy mgtTissue samplingPetiole or blade sampling can help pinpoint nutritional needs, but variables can interfere with accurate results. Cool cloudy days can temporarily elevate the nitrogen level. Trying to take the sample as close to the same time phenologically as possible will give more consistency through the years. Samples should be washed by the lab if foliars nutrient applications have been made. Some vines showing nutritional deficiencies may be suffering from wet feet and simply unable to pick up nutrients properly at this time.Heads up Powdery MildewSome reports of mildew just starting to show up on chardonnay and zinfandel. Check mid-sized leaves, and on zinfandel in particular check berries and berry stems. Look for ¼” slightly yellow spots on leaves that on the opposite surface will be greyish white, or the greyish white spot will be on the upper surface. On clusters look for the greyish white of older infections, or with new infections mildew appears like condensation. Use a handlens with the infection on the horizon of your view to see the translucent spore stalks arranged like a crew cut. To find mildew, check areas of your vineyard where disease pressure will be greatest. If weather has been on the cool side, look in your warmer areas. After heat spells look in the more vigorous cool areas. If there were wet spots or areas that started growing early and did not receive first fungicide applications in the timeliest manner then check those areas as well. Remember that your vineyard is unique and the mildew model risk assessment should be used as a guideline, not the final word of actual disease pressure in your vineyard.Dead arm disease / Grapevine Trunk Disease Vineyards around 5 to 6 years old may be seeing their first signs of dead arm disease. Dead arm may be caused by a number of internal, wood decay fungi, the best known of which is Eutypa lata. Another species of Eutypa has been identified in the North Coast, as well as five different species of Botryosphaeria that all have different rates of growth. Botryodiplodia, Phomopsis and esca/ measles are also implicated in causing cankers and dead arm. Vines infected with eutypa have a very characteristic shoot growth in the affected area at this time of year. See the UC IPM Grape Pest Management guidelines either in print or online for pictures. The common wisdom is that 10-year-old vineyards are prone to the disease. They may have it, but it is not a condition that suddenly occurs on the decade mark for a vineyard, but rather a slow accumulation of disease that becomes blatantly obvious somewhere around the 10th year. Learn to spot eutypa shoots, phomopsis symptoms on green tissue, measles symptoms in the summer and fall, and how to check for cankers. If you see dead spurs beginning to appear in your vineyard, dead arm disease should be suspected.Pruning out the dead wood past the canker to clean wood is a way to help manage eutypa and maybe the bot cankers and phomopsis. Esca seems more systemic. Double pruning may help reduce re-infection. This means making the major cuts and dead wood removal at the usual pruning time, but not cutting back completely to clean wood at this time, and going back late spring or early summer when the weather is warm and dry to make the final cuts to clean wood. One grower is using an inexpensive Sawsall.Although not dead arm diseases, cylindrocarpon (black foot disease), armillaria (oak root fungus), and phytophthora should also be on folks radar with the wet springs we’ve had for the past two years. When replanting in wet areas, take care to do thorough root removal since putting a new vine in a hole filled with infected old roots will not yield a healthy vine. Wet sandy areas are also prone to nematodes, another reason for good root removal of old vines when replacing vines.Monitoring PointsGrape LeafhopperPopulations so far look light. Egg hatch and nymph development seem delayed.MitesFew Pacific or Willamette mites have been seen yet.MealybugDennis working on management, not eradication in Cotati VMB infestation. Population low with past bark stripping and past chemical applications. Mite populations have become problematic with reduction of predators. This year will approach VMB management with Applaud. Mealybug destroyer beetle larvae have been seen in many vineyards this season. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is the bona fide MBD, and the destroyers we see may be a different genus or species. The larvae look quite similar to mealybugs but can very easily be told apart with a few seconds observation. MBD have thicker, wavy filaments that cover the body, mealybugs filaments are on the sides only. C. montrouzieri is available commercially and Laura is trying it in a site with heavy non-vine mealybug populations. Ants were controlled in the upper part of the block prior to the predator release. Ant populations remain high in the lower part of the block.VMB traps are now being installed. If you have not trapped or checked for VMB previously, this is a good time to start.BGSS Ending monitoring except perhaps on cane pruned and establishing vines.What is it?Sick SyrahIf you have syrah and notice vines with stunted canopies, yellowing and perhaps prematurely red last season, take the bark off and check the trunk above the graft union for black, deep crevices and cracks running around the graft union or longitudinally up the trunk. If present, get the vineyard plant material history together and contact Rhonda at the Farm Advisor’s office.Adjourn - Thanks for coming!