Evaluating a 'soft pesticide' program for wine grapes in the Great Lakes region for 2024

Project Overview

FNC24-1413
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2024: $11,154.00
Projected End Date: 09/30/2025
Grant Recipient: Shady Lane Cellars
Region: North Central
State: Michigan
Project Coordinator:
Andrew Fles
Shady Lane Cellars

Information Products

Commodities

  • Fruits: grapes

Practices

  • Pest Management: botanical pesticides, chemical control, disease vectors, economic threshold

    Summary:

    As a farm that looks to use sustainably sourced and produced materials, and also materials that are highly food-safe, we are very interested in incorporating natural, organic, or reduced risk pesticides in our program.  However, these products must also prove to be effective.  We are growing grapes in a much more humid and wet environment than where much of the product efficacy trials have been conducted.  We have had issues with sour rot and botrytis with several varieties in many of our previous vintages and have had to leave fruit in the field because of it.  At times, compromised fruit quality will lower the grade and thus price of the fruit that is sold, or if it is used in-house then additional treatments may be necessary to rid the juice of contaminants before fermentation occurs.   Mites have also affected yield.

    Our goal was to compare the efficacy of a soft chemistry spray program to that of a conventional synthetic program in rot susceptible vineyards. We were interested in trialing several new products that claim efficacy on three of our largest pathogens affecting fruit quality, powdery mildew, botrytis, and sour rot.   We rated the efficacy of these new products on a farm scale, alongside a 'conventional synthetic' program.  We worked with MSU researchers to rate product efficacy.  We saw limited differences between management programs, indicating soft program performed similar to the standard program.

    Project objectives:

    A primary objective is to reduce the impacts of pesticides in the vineyard ecosystem, the surrounding environment, and on the vineyard workers.  Another objective is to investigate more effective products for bunch rots, thus allowing for greater yield and increased quality parameters.  We are also seeking to grow grapes with less chemical residues at time of harvest.  

    This trial will compare a 'soft chemistry' spray program to that of a 'conventional synthetic'.  The soft chemistry program will contain many newly released products that Shady Lane has limited or no experience with, while the conventional program will be made up of products that we have used in the past.  Please see below for the spray schedule with list of products.  The newer organic and soft pesticide products, such as ProBlad Verde, are touted to be approaching efficacy to that of some older synthetic materials.  Some of the older synthetics have also shown disease resistance to certain diseases. Products such as Cinnerate, a cinnamon oil based pesticide, is very soft on beneficial insects while suffocating mites.   

    The varieties being evaluated are Riesling, Pinot noir, and Vignole.  Each variety will have a 2 acre plot for soft chemistry and a 2 acre plot for conventional, thus totaling 6 acres for each treatment.  This works well as I have a 300 gallon sprayer, and I will standardize all spray apps at 50 gal/acre, a common volume per acre.  I will be doing much of the loading, mixing, and applications, and I have an experienced vineyard crew member who can also perform applications as needed.  The applications will follow standard vineyard phenological timing. 

    Upon completion of the respective spray programs, and just prior to harvest each variety, we will be working with the labs of Dr. Tim Miles, and plant pathology researcher at Michigan State University, Dr. Rufus Isaacs, an Entomology researcher at MSU, and Esmaeil Nasrollahiazar of MSU Extension to review disease incidence per vine, and also per berry within a sample of 100 clusters per plot.  Their labs will compile a % disease incidence report for each treatment within each variety.  In addition, Esmaeil has lab equipment able to do residue testing, and he will perform a series of residue tests on each treatment to test for the amounts of chemical residues on the berries.  

    Proposed ‘Soft’ pesticide Treatment Schedule, 2024

    May: 
    Dormant App- Dormant oil

    June:
    1-2” shoot- Badge SC (copper) (possibly late May)
    6-12” shoot- Badge SC
    (Possible 18-24” shoot app, weather dependent)- Serenade Opti, Rose chafer chem?
    Pre-bloom- ProBlad Verde

    July:
    Postbloom- Cinnerate
    Buckshot berry/pea size berry-Cinnerate + Badge + Intrepid

    August:
    Pea size berry/berry touch-Serenade Opti
    Veraison- ProBlad Verde

    September:
    15 Brix- ProBlad Verde, Entrust/Delegate
    Preharvest- Jet Ag (x2)

    Proposed ‘Conventional Synthetic’ Pesticide Treatment
    Schedule

    May:
    Dormant App- Dormant oil

    June:
    1-2” shoot- Badge SC
    6-12” shoot- Badge SC
    Possible 18-24” shoot- Sulfur DF+ Assail
    Pre-bloom- Endura

    July: 
    Postbloom- Endura
    Buckshot berry- Serenade Opti+ Intrepid

    Aug:
    Buckshot berry- Rally+ Ranman 
    Veraison- Inspire Super

    September:
    15 Brix- Jet Ag+ Delegate
    Preharvest- Elevate+ Jet Ag

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.