Grapes
Shoot thinning is a canopy management practice that involves removing shoots in the grapevine canopy to reduce shoot density and help balance vegetative and reproductive growth. Potential benefits of shoot thinning: Improved air circulation Improved sunlight penetration Reduction of disease pressure Increased spray penetration *shoot thinning and positioning not only affects the current season’s growth,[Read More…]
Grapevines are in early stages of growth across the state, from bud break to 10 inch shoots. Significant shoot growth is expected with the warm weather predicted for this week. This is a very important time to maintain preventative control over major grape diseases including Phomopsis, black rot, powdery mildew and downy mildew. Fungicide application[Read More…]
Cold temperatures throughout March and April have led to delays in grapevine phenology ranging from 7-14 days behind normal. Generally speaking, later bud break reduces the risk of spring frost damage. However, warm weather over the weekend has progressed bud development greatly. Buds are in various stages of growth across the state, ranging from bud[Read More…]
Just a reminder to all fruit producers to organize and prep your fruit insect monitoring tools for the upcoming season! Depending on your fruit crop and location in the state, there’s a suite of fruit insects that are important for you to track, including moths, aphids, scales, stink bugs, fruit and vinegar flies, and[Read More…]
Late Spring freezes are becoming more and more common, and it is important to take action to prevent damage to your buds. A practice called double pruning can help avoid spring frost injury. Double pruning involves pruning the canes to 2-3x the desired amount of buds during the winter, which delays budbreak (and the risk[Read More…]
Purdue recently joined and became one of twenty US states that are in the NEWA network. NEWA is a partnership of land grant universities and grower associations. If you live in one of the states listed, you can buy a weather station for your farm and connect to NEWA. For Indiana growers, this means your membership is[Read More…]