Page 56 - Grapevine JanFeb 2021_REV

Around The Vineyard
Around The Vineyard

Rowan-Davis said. “Grapevine viruses are moved According to Greenspan, some common diseases
around with planting material if one doesn’t follow inflict significant damage to vineyards. “Powdery
safe practices, and many can also be vectored from mildew is the most common and most damaging.
vine-to-vine by insects or other pests. Red blotch It is fairly easy to control with fungicides, but the
and leafroll are found in many growing regions, but rotation of materials, timeliness, spray intervals and
the severity of the disease can differ depending spray coverage is important for its control. This is
upon varying environmental stresses.” a common problem in all growing regions. Trunk
diseases are also very common and very damaging,
Advanced Viticulture, Inc. and they include Eutypa and Botryosphaeria fungi,
as well as Esca types of fungi. These are common in
When it comes to fighting the diseases and insects all regions and can damage a vineyard by killing the
that can destroy a vineyard, education, backed by permanent structure of the vine.”
experience, matters.
Choosing between either chemical or organ-
Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., President and Viticulturist ic methods is about weighing outcomes. “We
of Advanced Viticulture, Inc., has 30 years in the don’t advocate for either, but find that a mix of
field, earning his Bachelor of Science in Electrical ‘chemical’ and organic materials is often the best
Engineering, Master of Science in Viticulture and approach,” Greenspan said. “Purely organic meth-
doctorate in Agricultural Engineering, all from the ods can be very difficult to make effective, especial-
UC Davis. He is also a certified crop advisor, certi- ly for difficult pests like vine mealybug and spider
fied professional agronomist and a licensed pest mites. Fungal diseases are more readily treated
control advisor with the state of California. using organic methods, but conventional materials
are often more effective and require fewer pass-
Advanced Viticulture opened in 2005 as a techni- es through a vineyard to attain control. Also, it is
cal consulting firm specializing in water and nutri- not correct to label this ‘organic versus chemical.’
ent management, soil evaluations and vineyard Organic products may be chemical as well but are
design. Its vineyard clients are along California’s derived from natural sources without extensive
north and central coasts, across the U.S. and inter- processing.”
nationally. In 2011, the company expanded into
vineyard management, providing services that Sym-Agro, Inc.
include farming grapes and developing vineyards,
primarily in Sonoma and Napa counties. Greenspan Sym-Agro, Inc., based in California’s San Joaquin
gave The Grapevine Magazine an overview of the Valley, has developed new takes on what nature
damage caused by a range of insect pests. has to offer to combat insect pests and diseases
plaguing vineyards. President and CEO Peter Bierma
“Spider mites can rapidly cause loss of leaf func- founded the company in 2012.
tion and can retard fruit maturation as a result,
if the infestation and damage become excessive. “I started Sym-Agro based on the belief that
Nematodes weaken the vines overall and can even- nature has antigens for every problem and, if you
tually kill vines. The nematodes can spread in the balance control with biology, you can grow really
soil and create weak and dead areas within a vine- good crops with very little conventional pesticides,”
yard block,” he said. “All of these pests are found said Bierma. “Now, with technology to validate
throughout grape growing regions of the U.S., but [the] efficacy of essential oils, beneficial bacteria,
spider mites tend to thrive under hot, dusty condi- etc., and more pressure on synthetic pesticides, this
tions under periods of vine water stress. The West segment is growing very fast.”
Coast experiences far fewer insect pests – and
definitely diseases – than the East Coast and other Bierma, with three decades of industry and field
grape growing regions of the U.S.” experience, said Sym-Agro offers three specific
products for grape crops: Cinnerate, Instill Copper

Page 54 The Grapevine • January - February 2021 877-892-5332

Grapevine Main Pages G010221_Layout 1-1 .indd 54 12/21/20 2:15 PM