- Pest Management :
Assess efficacies and potential use of "soft" control strategies for control of grape powdery mildew, including such materials as Stylet-Oil, jojoba oil (Erase), SAR materials (e.g. Serenade, Messenger, etc.), potassium bicarbonate products (e.g., Kaligreen), and biocontrol options such as Ampelomyces quisqualis (AQ10) and Tydeid mites (Horst Caspari and Harold Larsen)
Monitor powdery mildew incidence and infection severity on susceptible wine grape cultivars in on-station and off-station plots. Evaluate applicability of available disease models for powdery mildew infection and recommendations they make for Colorado growing conditions. Evaluate possible adaptations of these models for use by Colorado producers (Horst Caspari and Harold Larsen).
Infest vines at WCRC-OM with Tydeid mites and monitor survival and spread of the mite populations over several seasons. Examine impact of mites on powdery mildew incidence and severity of infection through time (Harold Larsen and Horst Caspari).
Monitor and record life stages of mealybugs in a number of commercial vineyards throughout the season; collect insect specimens that appear to be natural enemies of mealybugs for identification. Apply new narrow-spectrum insecticides for the control of mealybugs in mealybug-infested vineyards and assess their efficacy (Rick Zimmerman and Horst Caspari).
Installation of heat-pulse probes in grapevines at OMRC in spring and measurement of water use of grapevines throughout the season (Horst Caspari).
- Variety and Rootstock Evaluations
Collect phenological, yield, and pruning weight data from trial vineyards planted at WCRC Orchard Mesa (Horst Caspari).
Establish a new vineyard at WCRC Rogers Mesa and planting of new varieties in spring 2004 (Horst Casari).
Examine efficacy of different spray-on materials (Stylet-Oil, Surround, soybean oil, white latex paint, alginate + sucrose treatment, etc.) and other methods (e.g., shading) in delaying grape bud burst (Harold Larsen and Horst Caspari).
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