I planted 10 Cabernet Sauvignon vines this year (in SE Pennsylvania).
They've been growing very well until the Japenese beatles discovered
them in the last week or so. I also need to start spraying for powdery
mildew but I'm not sure which product is best. Sulpher? Is
lime-sulpher typically used? What about Mancozeb?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
RD

Beatles can be killed with Seven. The beatle problem is usually over by mid August - long before harvest for Cabernet Sauvignon and long past the pre harvest restrictions on its use - 7 days I believe.

Sulphur is good for Powdery but nothing else. It is also cheap. It will not control Downy, Black Rot or Phomopsis. JMS Stylette oil is also good for Powdery and may be preferable to Sulphur especially late in the season so as not to get a lot of sulphur in your wine. A 2.5 gallons jug of JMS will run you about $30 but will last you at least several years.

Mancozeb is a good preventative but there is a 66 day preharvest restriction on its use as well as product like it such as Penncozeb and Dithane. After June, you can use something like Ziram.

About two sprays each season with alternating sprays of Nova and Abound will take care of a lot of problems but Abound is VERY expensive but one gallon would last you a lifetime with only 10 vines. Use just prior to flowering, post flowering and fruit set and into June. Maybe you can get a small quantity from a commercial grower nearby.

Post verasion the disease pressure on the fruit diminishes greatly.

After verasion, you still need to be concerned with Botrytis. Products like Elevate are good for this and you can apply at verasion, about two weeks later and pre harvest.

I recommend you get the book "Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook" from Ohio State University Extension. It has everything you need to know. Their phone number is 614 292 1607.

I think you have a good choice with Cabernet Sauvignon. Some years may be difficult to rippen it fully but in general (my experience at least) it is more resistant to fungus and rot than varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I have 12 three year old vines this year and they are in Excellent shape. They produce a lot of fruit and in future years I can see where I may have to cluster thin to avoid over cropping. I live in Central Maryland.

Good luck with your wine growing.
"RD" > wrote in message oups.com...
I planted 10 Cabernet Sauvignon vines this year (in SE Pennsylvania).
They've been growing very well until the Japenese beatles discovered
them in the last week or so. I also need to start spraying for powdery
mildew but I'm not sure which product is best. Sulpher? Is
lime-sulpher typically used? What about Mancozeb?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
RD

Fungicides; add 'Kaligreen'
Beatles can be killed with Seven. The beatle problem is usually over by mid August - long before harvest for Cabernet Sauvignon and long past the pre harvest restrictions on its use - 7 days I believe.

Sulphur is good for Powdery but nothing else. It is also cheap. It will not control Downy, Black Rot or Phomopsis. JMS Stylette oil is also good for Powdery and may be preferable to Sulphur especially late in the season so as not to get a lot of sulphur in your wine. A 2.5 gallons jug of JMS will run you about $30 but will last you at least several years.

Mancozeb is a good preventative but there is a 66 day preharvest restriction on its use as well as product like it such as Penncozeb and Dithane. After June, you can use something like Ziram.

About two sprays each season with alternating sprays of Nova and Abound will take care of a lot of problems but Abound is VERY expensive but one gallon would last you a lifetime with only 10 vines. Use just prior to flowering, post flowering and fruit set and into June. Maybe you can get a small quantity from a commercial grower nearby.

Post verasion the disease pressure on the fruit diminishes greatly.

After verasion, you still need to be concerned with Botrytis. Products like Elevate are good for this and you can apply at verasion, about two weeks later and pre harvest.

I recommend you get the book "Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook" from Ohio State University Extension. It has everything you need to know. Their phone number is 614 292 1607.

I think you have a good choice with Cabernet Sauvignon. Some years may be difficult to rippen it fully but in general (my experience at least) it is more resistant to fungus and rot than varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I have 12 three year old vines this year and they are in Excellent shape. They produce a lot of fruit and in future years I can see where I may have to cluster thin to avoid over cropping. I live in Central Maryland.

Good luck with your wine growing.
"RD" > wrote in message oups.com...
I planted 10 Cabernet Sauvignon vines this year (in SE Pennsylvania).
They've been growing very well until the Japenese beatles discovered
them in the last week or so. I also need to start spraying for powdery
mildew but I'm not sure which product is best. Sulpher? Is
lime-sulpher typically used? What about Mancozeb?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
RD

Rd,

Don't want to alarm you but you should start spraying way before now.
Do you know what black rot looks like? It's red spots on the leaves
with a thin black outline around them. I'm surprised that unsprayed Cab
Sav would not have it already. For Black rot and powdery mildew I would
recommend Nova. Paul's post was very informative and was correct. The
active ingredient in Nova is Mycobutinil ( sp? ) which is also sold as
"Eagle" at Lesco. Get it and spray at 1 level teaspoon per gallon of
water. Do it as soon as you can. Also Captan is good for downey mildew
protection and you should mix in some Captan also for DM. Like Paul
said add some Sevin for the beetles but unless the infestation is
extremely bad, they won't hurt you as much as PM,DM, and BR. After you
spray the Nova/Captan solution spray it again in 10 days. That should
get you going in the right direction.

Bob



RD wrote:
> I planted 10 Cabernet Sauvignon vines this year (in SE Pennsylvania).
> They've been growing very well until the Japenese beatles discovered
> them in the last week or so. I also need to start spraying for powdery
> mildew but I'm not sure which product is best. Sulpher? Is
> lime-sulpher typically used? What about Mancozeb?
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> RD

Thanks for the advice. This is a big help! Paul, I saw the Ohio State
pest management reference you cited also available as PDF files on the
web. I'll post the url here for anyone interested.
(http://ohioline.osu.edu/b861/index.html).

RD

Here's a link for some organic control options in case you're
interested in some alternatives to chemical controls. Haven't read all
of it myself, but when I glanced at the disease control section they
said there were no organic controls for black rot, botrytis and some
others, but I know there are some out there now. Fungastop is one that
is on the market for control of many fungal and bacterial diseases.

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/f...fcontents.html

Paul,

I'm having trouble locating some of the fungicides mentioned above like
at local stores like Agway. Can you recommend a source?

Thanks again for your help,
RD

I usually purchase my fungicides through the Maryland Grape Growers Association. They buy for a number of growers and have several pick up points in the spring. I have ordered through Southern States but they usually have to have it UPS over to them and they are more expensive. I know the Maryland Grape Growers Association purchases from a place in Pennsylvania. It may be near you.

I know Jack Johnson whose email is listed at the bottom of this page can tell you where they get the material.

http://www.marylandwine.com/mgga/gro...ides/cppp.html

Also, Don Gautner has a vineyard in Seven Valleys, PA. He sells to amateur winemakers. I am sure he can tell you a good source for fungicides near you. Seven Valleys is in Southeastern PA - North of Baltimore about 20 miles or so inside Pennsylvania. His email is By the way, he grows EXCELLENT Cabernet Sauvignon. If you drop him an email I am sure he will get back with you. He is a very nice person and was in an Article in Winmaker Magazine last year.

Hope this helps

Paul


"RD" > wrote in message ps.com...
Paul,

I'm having trouble locating some of the fungicides mentioned above like
at local stores like Agway. Can you recommend a source?

Thanks again for your help,
RD

Miker,

Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.

Bob


miker wrote:
> Here's a link for some organic control options in case you're
> interested in some alternatives to chemical controls. Haven't read all
> of it myself, but when I glanced at the disease control section they
> said there were no organic controls for black rot, botrytis and some
> others, but I know there are some out there now. Fungastop is one that
> is on the market for control of many fungal and bacterial diseases.
>
> http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/f...fcontents.html

wrote:
> Miker,
>
> Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.
>
> Bob

Sulfur and Stylet Oil are both organic and both will control fungus on
vinifera. Fungastop is organic and I've seen tests that show it will
control fungus on vinifera. There are plenty of other options out there
as well. There are lots of organic vinifera wines on the market, and
I'm sure all of those growers see fungus problems and somehow overcome
them.

Sulphur and Stylet Oil will only work against Powdery. I do not know about Fungastop.

It is a lot easier to go "Organic" in certain areas. For example a grower in a hot semi arid climate could go that route a WHOLE lot easier than a grower in the Midwest or Eastern US.

Most of us growers would love to go "Organic" - especially if the products were there and cheaper - but so far it is only a dream.
"miker" > wrote in message oups.com...

wrote:
> Miker,
>
> Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.
>
> Bob

Sulfur and Stylet Oil are both organic and both will control fungus on
vinifera. Fungastop is organic and I've seen tests that show it will
control fungus on vinifera. There are plenty of other options out there
as well. There are lots of organic vinifera wines on the market, and
I'm sure all of those growers see fungus problems and somehow overcome
them.

Kaligreen (potassium bicarbonate) is advertised as an organic approach
to powdery mildew. I haven't seen any data on it's efficacy, however.

In California where black rot and Downey Mildew are non-existant, you
might be able to get away with it but growing organically in the
tropical rain forest conditions of the east is another thing. I would
bet most of the organic wines are not vinifera if grown in the east.

Bob


miker wrote:
> wrote:
> > Miker,
> >
> > Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.
> >
> > Bob
>
> Sulfur and Stylet Oil are both organic and both will control fungus on
> vinifera. Fungastop is organic and I've seen tests that show it will
> control fungus on vinifera. There are plenty of other options out there
> as well. There are lots of organic vinifera wines on the market, and
> I'm sure all of those growers see fungus problems and somehow overcome
> them.

BTW,

I have tried to grow organically. It worked extremely well on
chamboucin and not so well on vinifera. My secret spray, OxiClean. It's
cheap and it's mostly sodium percarbonate. Basically it produces
hydrogen peroxide ( oxygen bleach) when mixed with water. It is a very
efective sporicide. Actually it's a great sporicide. You need to spray
about every 5 days ( a number I came up with based on fungus
germination cycles) and the one fungus it doesn't seem to stop is
phomopsis cane but I did skip a spray that I shouln't have and the jury
is still out on that observation. I had a good and extremely clean
harvest. I started spraying the wood in March and continued through
harvest. I mixed it in a 5 gallon bucket with warm water and used 2 of
the little scoops ( the old scoops that came with oxiclean) per 5
gallons. If some one knows of a way to control phomopsis organically,
it would work well. I was surprised how little black rot I had
considering chambourcin is extremely sensitive to black rot. You can
also spray in the rain, which I did many times, and I think it's better
to spray in the rain and take advantage of the water that oxiclean
needs to produce the hydogen peroxide that it produces when mixed with
water. If I had a mechanical sprayer I probably would have continued
this year but my arm almost fell off last year spraying the vineyard so
often with a backpack sprayer. I highly recommend the stuff, Oxiclean (
sodium percarbonate ) .

Bob


wrote:
> In California where black rot and Downey Mildew are non-existant, you
> might be able to get away with it but growing organically in the
> tropical rain forest conditions of the east is another thing. I would
> bet most of the organic wines are not vinifera if grown in the east.
>
> Bob
>
>
> miker wrote:
> > wrote:
> > > Miker,
> > >
> > > Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.
> > >
> > > Bob
> >
> > Sulfur and Stylet Oil are both organic and both will control fungus on
> > vinifera. Fungastop is organic and I've seen tests that show it will
> > control fungus on vinifera. There are plenty of other options out there
> > as well. There are lots of organic vinifera wines on the market, and
> > I'm sure all of those growers see fungus problems and somehow overcome
> > them.

I think you are correct, Bob. Growing vinifera in the East is a challange. I believe I have read that Sulphur and Copper sprays are approved for "Organic" grown grapes. In other words, one may be surprised at what qualifies for "Organic Grown".
> wrote in message oups.com...
In California where black rot and Downey Mildew are non-existant, you
might be able to get away with it but growing organically in the
tropical rain forest conditions of the east is another thing. I would
bet most of the organic wines are not vinifera if grown in the east.

Bob


miker wrote:
> wrote:
> > Miker,
> >
> > Organic control of fungus on vinifera??? Good luck.
> >
> > Bob
>
> Sulfur and Stylet Oil are both organic and both will control fungus on
> vinifera. Fungastop is organic and I've seen tests that show it will
> control fungus on vinifera. There are plenty of other options out there
> as well. There are lots of organic vinifera wines on the market, and
> I'm sure all of those growers see fungus problems and somehow overcome
> them.

You are absolutely right that it is much easier to grow organically in
the drier west and I was going to point that out in my post, but
figured the reply would be that the OP was from the east where it is a
lot tougher to combat disease - probably it's a lot harder to grow
good vinifera grapes in general. I would think there are some people
doing it successfully, however.

Interesting about the oxyclean. Perhaps you should consider Oxidate
www.biosafesystems.com another organic fungicide I forgot about. Don't
know if it's registered for grapes but at least it is a registered
pesticide unlike oxyclean. It's widely used in the greenhouse industry
for a variety of disease problems.

As far as the milk for powdery mildew, I have seen the original
research on this and it did work in cucurbits. Don't know if anyone has
tested it on grapes.