Webinar Series Promotes Precision Viticulture

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (August 22, 2018) -- Members of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program have been working for the past three years as part of a multi-state, multi-disciplinary project looking at developing and implementing precision viticulture practices in New York and California vineyards. As “Efficient Vineyard”, a Specialty Crop Research Initiative project funded by USDA/NIFA and headed up by project director, Dr. Terry Bates, moves toward the end of its third year, there is some great research information to dispense to growers and members of the grape industry. One of the objectives of this project is to provide access to project information to grape growers and members of the various grape industries across the United States. To get the word out, members of the Technology Adoption and Outreach team have developed a monthly webinar series, “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Precision Viticulture”. These webinars are being produced and delivered on the second Tuesday of every month with Jackie Dresser, CLEREL and Kevin Martin, LERGP Extension, teaming up to help growers, extension specialists, consultants and members of the grape industry through the ins and outs of precision viticulture. Participants of the webinar series will start by learning the science behind precision viticulture and continue each month, working towards an understanding of the nuts and bolts of implementing variable rate management in a vineyard.

The webinar series started on June 12, 2018 with a webinar providing background and scope for the rest of the webinar series and on how applying precision viticulture can take the guess work out of vineyard management. Economics of how investing in precision viticulture can increase profitability can increase profits was also covered. Economics is a key factor in the decision to adopt precision viticulture practices and will be a discussion point in each webinar in the series. Soil was the focus of the July webinar “Looking Deeper; a subsurface vineyard exploration” where Jackie discussed the role of soil in nutrient and water availability and how precision viticulture can help growers adapt some cultural practices to a specific soil environment. The latest webinar, “Does your photosynthetic engine need a tune up?” looks at how to maximize the photosynthetic efficiency of the grape canopy, and how sensors collect the data to provide growers information on vine size variability within a vineyard.

The fourth webinar, “How Much fruit would a grape harvester pick if a grape harvester could pick fruit? The low down on yield monitoring in vineyards” is scheduled for September 11th at 1 PM EST. This webinar will provide participants a look at how commercially available yield monitors work and how yield data can be mapped in real time and post-harvest.

Participation in the webinar series is available, free of charge, to anyone interested in precision viticulture. To participate, just register for the webinars on the Efficient Vineyard website. To ensure participants do not forget, a reminder email is sent the day before the webinar. The best way to view the webinar is to participate live as there is the opportunity to interact with presenters and fellow participants during a chat time prior to the start of the webinar as well as the ability to ask questions of the presenters during the question and answer period at the end. However, for those who are unable to attend, each webinar is recorded and can be accessed at any time on the Efficient Vineyard website. Webinar registration and viewing of previous webinars can be accomplished at https://www.efficientvineyard.com/ by clicking on the Webinar Info button.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch’s), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call 716-792-2800 or visit our website at http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated August 22, 2018