An article from Perspectives From the Field
Writing by Jeffrey M. Crank, AgIS Capital General Manager, California Regions
Powdery mildew has long been one of the most persistent challenges a vineyard will face. Growers have been combating this fungal disease for centuries as referenced in the Bible. It demands most of our Integrated Pest Management expenses and in any given area within California a grower can spend between $500 and $1500 per acre each year to keep it under control.
Mildew spore trap on AgIS Capital vineyard
Spore Trapping: Integrated Pest Management
For the last five years, AgIS Capital has been utilizing powdery mildew spore traps within our wine grape vineyards as part of an Integrated Pest Management program. Weekly monitoring in high-pressure blocks provides real-time, site-specific data that informs targeted interventions, enabling us to help control the disease pressure and apply crop protectants only when necessary.
This approach reduces reliance on calendar-based spraying, lowers input costs, and minimizes environmental impacts while maintaining crop quality.
How it Works
Traps are placed inside vineyard blocks that are susceptible to mildew—varieties like Chardonnay, for example. Each trap has a spinning rod placed at the fruit zone height, designed to capture conidia, microscopic spores released by conidiophores during the rapid reproduction phase of powdery mildew. By collecting and analyzing these spores, we gain a general sense of what mildew is doing across our property.
Analyzing the Data
Each week, we pull the spinning rods and send them to a lab to count the number of conidia per rod. The results of the read out can be very impactful to our management program in controlling the fungus.
Example of a spore trap read out. Source: CVC Ag
Low read outs indicate that disease pressure is low. This can prompt us to delay sprays, consider cheaper materials, reduce rates of application and extend intervals between sprays. These opportunities translate to meaningful savings in areas such as labor, materials, pesticides, fuel and even a reduction in soil compaction throughout the vineyard.
Conversely, high read outs would indicate an increase in powdery mildew activity which requires a different approach. At this point, diligent management and execution is required and will keep the disease in checkmate so that our crop remains healthy, clean and void of defects.
Regular monitoring of powdery mildew spore traps maintains crop quality while:
- Reducing reliance on calendar-based spraying
- Lowering input costs
- Minimizing environmental impacts
Spore trapping is just one example of a technical application that we utilize to manage our assets properly, sustainably and responsibly.
Learn more about AgIS Capital’s Sustainability efforts on our Responsibility page.
