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Compiled and edited by Jason Burrus EASTERN VIRGINIA (Gonzalo Ortiz, Rustic Vintage, LLC, eastvagrowers@gmail.com) Here in the beautiful Northern Neck of Virginia, rain has been sporadic, daily high temperatures have been moderate, and nighttime temperatures have been cool. On our farm Chardonnay, which is our first to bud, bud break started the first couple days of April. The first week of April has seen Bud burst for Chardonnay these last two years on our three-year-old Chardonnay. There were six days with nighttime lows in the thirties in April with the last one being April 21. No frost scares on site in [...]

Written by Dr. Harner, edited and compiled by Jess Trapeni     Research Updates from the Viticulture Lab at Virginia Tech   The growing season seemed to start with a bang, and we are now well into my first year of grape cultivation and field research as a new Assistant Professor of Viticulture and Viticultural Extension Specialist for Virginia Tech, based at the AHS Jr. AREC in Winchester. We have had a busy time so far putting in a small block of vines and setting up some new experiments while working to wrap up others that are ongoing. Our research [...]

Written by Dr. Ting, Compiled and Edited by Jess Trapeni A summary of two fruit thinning experiments involving shoulder thinning and cluster halving. Introduction Fertile Virginia soils can often produce vigorous grape vines with a heavy crop load that struggle to fully ripen. It is common practice to reduce crop load by pruning and cluster thinning to decrease shading and disease pressure, increase sunlight exposure, and encourage ripening. Crop reduction is also thought to improve overall vine balance and prevent stress that can lead to lower fruitfulness in subsequent years1. However, crop reduction comes at a measurable cost. In her landmark [...]

Written by David Eiserman The 2024 Summer Technical Meeting was held in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley at the lovely Bluestone Vineyards. The morning started with a talk and demonstration led by Dr. Sally Dickinson from Virginia Tech School of Animal Sciences, about the use of dogs to detect spotted lantern fly(SLF) egg masses in a farm setting. This project is informally referred to as The Canine Citizen Science Study and was begun as a study by Texas Tech and, last year, was expanded into the East Coast by means of a partnership with Virginia Tech. In the short time that [...]