Michigan State University Extension will host a series of in-season integrated pest management (IPM) meetings for grape growers in Michigan, with the first kick-off meeting March 24.
Posted on March 9, 2015 by Brad Baughman, Michigan State University Extension
In an effort to help juice and wine grape growers in southwest Michigan achieve efficient, economical and environmentally sound pest management in their vineyards, Michigan State University Extension will be hosting several in-season meetings on integrated pest management (IPM). MSU researchers will facilitate discussions and lectures on critical points in insect and disease life cycles, efficacy of different fungicide and insecticide materials, updates on their research on IPM and related issues, and non-chemical means of management of diseases and insects.
The first of these meetings will be a general Grape Grower Kick-Off Meeting held March 24 at 2 p.m. at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (SWMREC), 1791 Hillandale Rd., Benton Harbor, MI 49022. Rufus Isaacs of the MSU berry crops entomology laboratory will be giving a grape pest management update for 2015. Annemiek Schilder of MSU’s plant pathology will be discussing the benefits of dormant sprays to reduce disease inoculum and will be giving a review of disease management up to bloom time. Tom Zabadal, SWMREC director and MSU horticulture professor, will be discussing a topic on the minds of many grape growers lately, managing winter injury to buds and cambium. Discussion will follow each speaker, so growers are encouraged to bring questions. There will be an early dinner after the educational presentations at 4:30 p.m.
Other in-season IPM meetings will occur at grower vineyards and will include field demonstrations, on May 19 and August 18. Time and location of these events will be announced at a later date, so check the MSU Extension Fruit & Nuts Events page or the MSU Growing Grapes for Juice and Wine website.
Registration is now open for the March 24 meeting. Registration information can be found at the Grape Grower Kick-Off Meeting event page.
Grape IPM programming for 2015 is funded in part by the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council.
This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.cnchemicals.com/. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://bit.ly/MSUENews. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://www.cnchemicals.com/, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).
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