Cultural Practices For Disease

Control in Vineyards

Caine Thompson, Viticulturist,

Mission Estate Winery

It Starts With Pruning

Purpose - to set vines up for growing season

- remove innoculum sources

- prune with balance in mind –avoid conjecstion

Cane pruning - number, selection, size, budspacing, wrap

Spur pruning - number, buds, height?

Shoot Thinning For Space Purpose – to remove surplus shoots and to

moderate crop yield

Advantages – open canopy, aeration, spray penetration, light

How – cane prune – doubles, unders, heads

How – spur prune – shoots per spur?

Severity depends on site and also end use of fruit

Leaf Plucking

Purpose – to open up bunch zone

Advantages – spray penetration, aeration,

promotion of ripening, disease control –

powdery, botrytis

Exposure – check with winery

Options – machine, hand, sheep

Leaf Plucking

Canopy Management

Tucking – keep shoots upright and within

wires – care required

Shoot positioning – ultimate for disease

control. Implemented at shoot thinning can be

taken to actual shoot tying

Canopy management

Bunch Thinning

Purpose to moderate crop load/remove

disease/reduce crowding

Timing – berries peas size

Supervision required

If pruned well, shoot thinned, positioned, then bunch

thinning may not be required

Required when bunches touching/growing together

and/or when crop load limits ripening potential

Bunch Trash Removal

Seen to be perhaps the key for botrytis control

in white varieties in particular

Collard leaf plucker – proven to clear trash

from bunches and to significantly improve

botrytis control at harvest

Chris Henry Canopy Blower – trials being

conducted this year

Flowers for insect control

Purpose to encourage bio control – parasitic wasp predation of LBAM

Sow every 10th row (30m)

Phacelia (3kg/ha) Buckwheat (25kg/ha)

Direct drill to reduce costs

Costs $26/ha

Prodigy costs $36/ha

Benefits soil structure

Flowers for insect control

Endopathegentic Control of Mealybug

Endopathegentic fungi being trialled in Virus

Elimination Project

Natural product fungus – Biogro certified

Been used extensively in Greenhouses in NZ

with good results

Being trialled in a 2ha trial comparing

conventional vs fungi

Endopathegentic Control of Mealybug

Summary

Cultural management is the key for managing

disease in an organic system

An open canopy is essential

Prune for shoot position

Shoothin for vine balance

Leaf pluck to open bunch zone

Balance is the key