Death in the vineyard - Please help

Dear newsgroup,

5 long years ago I started planning a vineyard in my backyard. 4 years ago I planted 8 chambourcin vines and have nursed them along over the years. I was supposed to get fruit last year, but was infested by black rot. This year I've sprayed for the black rot, and have it only partially under control, but I don't think that is the worst of my problems.

My vines are dying and I have no idea why. An entire vine will suddenly start to droop and within a couple weeks it is completely dead (or at least all the shoots are dried and shriveled). It started on one vine and has now spread to three. I fear for the entire vineyard.

I've dug up some roots around one vine and see no problems. There are no signs of moles. They've had plenty of water. There's been no roundup etc in the area. I've been spraying captan (mixed with soap) to control the black rot.

I would certainly appreciate any advice anyone could lend to help me save my precious vineyard. I've setup a pictures website at the following address:

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Please help! :~(

John

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Reply to
John Bendig
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I can not say what exactly your problem may be but Captan is not all that effective on Black Rot. It is effective for Phomopsis, Cane and Leaf Spot, and Downy Mildew. I have no experience using soap so I can not comment on that. If you want to control Black Rot, try Abound, Bayleton, Elite Ferbam, Flint, Mancozeb, Nova, Pristine, Procure, Sovran or Ziram. I recommend you get a copy of "Midwest Small Fruit Pest Management Handbook from the Ohio State University Extension.

I have some Chambourcin in my vineyard along with predominately Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chambourcin always gives me the most problems.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

John - You don't say where you live and that may have something to do with your problem. If you are in an area where grape growing is big go to the county extension office with your pictures and a dying vine. They may be of help. From your pictures it could be 2-4-D damage. One of my friends had a lot of 2-4-D damage because of spray drift in his neighborhood.

Early in the season I believe it's better to use Mancozeb (Dithane) for blackrot. I use a tank mix of Dithane plus Nova. I also add liquid dishwashing soap to allow the spray to spread evenly over the leaf surface. Most of my grape growing buddies use commercial spreader/sticker but it's just soap (surfactant is a better term). Sixty days before you expect to harvest grapes stop Dithane and switch over to a mix with Captan and Nova. Local grape growers that don't spray lose their crop to blackrot. With a regular spray program, recommended by the county extension office, I do not have disease problems in the vineyard or orchard. Keep at it.

I also grow Chambourcin. It's one of my favorite grapes and I believe it makes the best hybrid wine, at least the way it's grown in the Kansas City area.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Reply to
William Frazier

John,

I second that Captan is not really good at controling black rot. I use Nova and it works great! Nova is sold under the name "eagle" at Lesco. It's really mycobutinil sp?. Ya gotta spray the first application just before Bloom , IMO, to have the best success. As far as your vines, black rot will affect the winter hardiness of the vine and it sounds like your trunks are just not able to keep up with the demands of growing and the vine dies. I've had it happen to 1 of my vines and I didn't know what it was. My problem was caused by defoliation from deer but fungus can have the same effect. Have you seen any crown gall or aerial rooting on your trunks???? That's what I think it might be. If so and IF your growing them on their own roots you could just take the suckers from the ground and re-grow them. If your vines are grafted, you need to replace them. That's why I don't grow grafted anymore.

Bob

John Bendig wrote:

Reply to
doublesb

Thanks all for the advice. Certainly I've erred by trying to control black rot with Captan. I won't make that mistake again. I've added Mancozeb to my spray mix for now, but will switch to something else in a month or so. Hopefully it will be under control by then.

I had a friend say the death might be from winter damage. Is this the right behavior? The vines start to grow well and then shrivel up and die? ARE THE VINES DEAD or will they come back next year? We had a late frost and I was unable to cover the vines that are dying. Can a frost do this much damage?

BTW, I'm in central Ohio. I've already got the OSU spray guide and will get the "small fruit pest management handbook" very very soon.

Thanks again!

John

Reply to
John Bendig

John, how close are you to farm land? I would suspect herbicide drift if you are near fields that are growing crops. It is difficult to say whether your vines will come back to life because the cause of their death is unknown. Also, the link below from the Maryland Grape Growers Association will list amount of pesticides to use and how to calculate the amount for small vineyard applications using a back pack sprayer. I do not know what the effect of applying too much Captan would have but this may be a possibility. In any case, the information will be useful for you in the future.

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Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

John,

I agree with your friend. It most likely is winter damage caused mostly by the black rot not letting the vine grow correctly because of the damage it did to the leaves last year. If the vine is unable to use the sunlight the vine will be weakened and not able to survive the winter correctly. The trunks may "work" for a short while but then fail during the next growing season. If you see whole shoots "die" that is one of the symtoms. It's actually caused by the trunk dieing and the water is not transported to the upper vine anymore. Like I said, If you have own rooted vines you will be able to regrow from suckers , if not, you may need to replant.

Bob

Reply to
doublesb

Paul,

It doean't soung like 2-4d . It sounds like trunk damage and I'm almost sure that if he looks at his trunks there is going to be signs of damage. If too much Captan was applied it would "burn" the leaves at the edges with most of the burn near the center of the leaf because of the way the water runs off the leaf after spraying. Actually I'm not sure if you would see that with Captan. I've seen it with foliar fertilizers but not Captan or mancozeb.

Bob

Reply to
doublesb

Thanks Bob, very interesting. You say I "might" have to replant. Is it still possible that the vine will "spring" to life next year? Seems unlikely. I suppose I should replant a sucker next to the vine "just in case". I've never planted from suckers before, do I need to do anything special? Just keep it wet? I presume that would take longer than planting another rooted vine?

Thanks again.

John

Reply to
John Bendig

Good observation. I believe the OP is from Ohio. If so perhaps he should contact the State Extension Service. Specifically he should talk to Mike Ellis. Mike made an excellent presentation at the annual meeting of the Maryland Grape Growers Association Meeting.

Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

John,

No, If your vines are OWN ROOTED the suckers will grow from near or at the soil line. If your vines are own rooted your fine. BTW, do have crown gall or aerial rooting taking place on your trunks??????? That is a sure sign of trunk injury.

Bob

Reply to
doublesb

Forgot something. If your vine is dead and it is an own rooted vine, cut the trunk off at the soil line. If the trunk is white on the inside and looks "moist" the vine is definitely still good and you will get some suckers to grow. They may take some time but they WILL come. Just be patient. If the trunk looks dead, You still might get some suckers to grow, you just have to wait and see. It depends on the roots which "probably" still good.

Bob

Reply to
doublesb

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