Corteva to
cease production and sale of chlorypyrifos:
On Feb 6, Coreteva announced it will cease production and sale of chlorpyrifos,
the active ingredient in Lorsban. The statement cited
economic factors. This material has been in the news lately,
for human health and regulatory concerns. In November 2015,
EPA announced
its plan to revoke all tolerances because of
neurodevelopmental problems resulting from neonatal
exposure. However, the plan was subsequently reversed
following a call
for more comments in November 2016, finalized
in July 2019.
Fruit Insect Blog for current information
of fruit insects!
Visit https://virginiafruitinsectupdates.blogspot.com/.
Spotted
wing drosophila: A new invasive pest of small fruit
crops and vineyards moved through Virginia in late summer
2011. Spotted wing drosophila,
Drosophila suzukii, differs from other species
of vinegar or pomace flies in that it lays eggs in ripening fruit
on the vine or plant, rather than in overripe or rotting fruit
material. This has the potential to be a major problem for
growers of soft-fruited crops. More information is posted in
a
SWD
page in the Virginia Fruit web site. Hear an
Adobe Presenter
presentation on spotted
wing drosophila in vineyard and berry crops.
Brown marmorated
stink bug and Virginia fruit: See
StopBMSB.org web site! A new
addition to the stink
bug complex is brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål). Brown
marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has recently been introduced from Asia
into the northeastern U.S. It was first detected in 1998 in
Allentown, Pennsylvania (see NAPIS map;
this map underrepresents the situation in Virginia). It was later found in New Jersey,
Maryland and Delaware, and in October 2004 it was found in
Montgomery County, Virginia, and in Tennessee in 2008. Injury in tree fruits can be severe, exceeding 25%
(individual blocks have been estimated to have much higher levels
of fruit injury). Externally, fruit may have multiple
reddish dents at feeding sites, resembling hail strikes.
Upon cutting into fruit, corky areas are seen in the flesh of the
fruit. In vineyards, a unique
problem is posed. Stink bugs may be harvested along with
clusters and be transported to the winery in lugs or bins, where
the wine can be imparted with a "stink bug taint". Research
is underway to test short-residual insecticides to knock down BMSB
from clusters at harvest.
For further information and images, see the Brown marmorated
stink bug page. A working group on organic management of BMSB
has been established, with their own web site. There
is opportunity to participate in grower forums. Listen to Adobe Presenter
presentation on BMSB in vineyards and caneberries (14 min.).
Mating disruption for grape root
borer now available: Grape root borer has been a
difficult pest to control, and has been increasing in severity in
Virginia vineyards. A mating disruption product, Isomate
GRB, is now registered. The label is available (Great Lakes
IPM), as is the MSDS (Pacific
Biocontrol). The rope-style pheromone dispensers
should be placed in the last week of June, at a rate of 100 ropes
per acre.
A new winegrape production guide, edited
by Tony Wolf, is now available through NRAES, entitled Winegrape
Production Guide for Eastern North America. This comprehensive reference will be used by novice and
experienced growers, crop advisors, service providers, educators,
communicators, and students. It provides information on all
aspects of wine grape culture including site selection and
preparation, trellising and pruning, disease and pest
identification, nutrient management, irrigation, pesticide
application, harvesting, vineyard cost and returns, and grape
sales. This 336-page guide is
available at the NRAES web
site for $75.00.
Online master's Degree: The College of
Agriculture and Life Science at Virginia Tech has established a
new on-line Master's
in Agriculture and Life Sciences. This
curriculum has been approved by the State Council of Higher
Education and is now accepting applications for Fall semester
2007. In this program, you can earn a master's degree in
agriculture while working in your current job - emphasis is on
education for place-bound learners, and all courses are taken
on-line. In addition to a core area, there are courses
offered in five areas of concentration: (1) Biosecurity,
Bioregulations and Public Health, (2) Education, (3) Environmental
Science, (4) Food Safety, and (5) Plant Science and Pest
Management. In addition to course work, the student completes a project decided upon in consultation with
your major advisor. Lists
of
courses within each concentration may be found in the web
site linked above. This program was recently the subject of
an interview by Jeff
Ishee with Virginia Public Televsion's Virginia
Farming. (see 2017-2018 Extended Campus tuition
rates).
Imidan restrictions in vineyards:
There has been
confusion regarding the advisability of the use of Imidan in
vineyards. In 2006, the Restricted Entry Interval (REI) was
extended to 14 days. This makes Imidan impractical for most
grape growers to use. In 2007, a label is posted on the
newly reformatted CDMS web site, a source of pesticide labels and
material safety data sheets. In some of these labels, a REI
of 24 hours is given. This has been the source of confusion
in the status of the REI for this product. This
is an outdated label that is kept online by CDMS because of
certain requirements in California. It refers to the 70W formulation without
water soluble bags. Although the old
label is still posted, it is no longer supported by Gowan. Only the formulation in water soluble
bags is supported. The REI
of 14 days for phosmet remains in effect. Virginia
grape growers will be notified if there is a possibility of this
changing, particularly if there is an opportunity for public
input.
New Viticulture link in Virginia Fruit
Page:
The link for viticultural information now leads
to Viticulture
Notes, a bimonthly newsletter by Tony
Wolf of Virginia Tech's Alson H. Smith Agricultural Research
and Extension Center in Winchester. This site provides information
on general viticultural topics, as well as information on upcoming
educational meetings.
Virginia Vineyard Association Winter Meeting: February
19-21, 2020.
Vineyard and Winery Festivals:
In the VDACS Wine Web Site, there is a listing of
Virginia
Winery
Festivals
Back to Vineyard
page
Back to Mid-Atlantic
Regional
Fruit Loop