Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc.  It is the time of year when our office starts receiving calls about “bumps” forming on grape leaves. While pest identification is usually quite difficult when based solely on a rough description of the symptoms, “bumps” on grapevine leaves are almost always associated with the aerial, or leaf form, of phylloxera. Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vi...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. With Jim Kamas, Assistant Professor & ExtensionSpecialist – Pomology & Viticulture, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Fredericksburg, Texas Grape growers in southern regions of the United States face a potential problem not encountered by growers in more northern regions–Pierce’s disease (PD) of grape.  An excellent resource, P...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. The use of grow tubes in vineyard establishment has become popular in the past decade or two. Obviously, vineyards have been planted for thousands of years without the use of plant shelters, but the tubes do provide some positive benefits. This article will summarize some research on grow tubes as well as our experience in western New York. Gr...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. Cover crop management is an important consideration in viticulture. Most vineyards are managed with some kind of ground cover in the row middles, while minimizing weed competition near the vines. There are many benefits from growing cover crops in row middles. These include reduced risk of soil erosion and improved soil fertility, as well as h...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. Powdery mildew (PM) is an important vineyard disease worldwide.  As pointed out by Cornell University grape plant pathologist Wayne Wilcox, Eastern North America is the origin of powdery mildew, and we cannot grow grapes here without controlling it.  Sulfur is a traditional material used to control powdery mildew, but grape cultivars differ wi...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. This month’s article is inspired by several e-mails and phone calls received over the past few weeks from all over the country regarding yellow jackets in vineyards and how to control them.  Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to this group of insects, and they can pose a stinging hazard, especially to workers harvesting ripe fruit in t...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. After successfully managing a crop to within weeks or even days of harvest, few things can be as frustrating as fruit damaged by birds and other pests.  In addition to direct loss of fruit, bird-damaged fruit is also more susceptible to various fruit rots that can cause off-flavors and other defects in wine.  This article will summarize a few ...

Top Photo Left: ‘Concord’ on TWC; Top Photo Right: ‘Vidal’ on TWC; Bottom Photo Left: ‘Pinot Gris’ on VSP, prior to leaf pulling; Bottom Photo Right: ‘Pinot Gris’ on VSP, after leaf pulling Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. The production of large crops of high quality fruit requires that grapevines be pruned and trained to produce a large area of healthy leaves exposed to sun...

Rick Dunst, Viticulturist, Double A Vineyards, Inc. Spring has sprung (albeit 3-4 weeks early in Western New York) and Double A Vineyards has begun shipping vines to our customers in warmer climates.  This month’s article will cover the basics of pre-plant land preparation, how to handle vines once you receive them, methods of planting, and early care of the vineyard. Pre-plant Land Preparation...