Notify me when new publications are added.
This factsheet provides recommended practices and management strategies for protecting wine grapes from spring frost damage.
The grape and wine industry in North Carolina is now worth in excess of $30 million dollars. To assist North Carolina growers in the production a quality grapes for quality wines, a newly revised 196 page guide has been written for winegrape growers, called the North Carolina Winegrape Grower’s Guide. This publication provides grape growers with practical information about choosing an appropriate site for a vineyard, establishment, and operation of commercial vineyards in North Carolina.
The publication explores how temperature affects viticulture in North Carolina, focusing on regional temperature conditions as key factors in grape and wine quality. The study includes four models that outline temperature regimes across the state, discusses climate change implications for viticulture, and recommends winegrape cultivars for new and replacement plantings.
This publication explores the different types of agritourism activities that are available to farmers and explains some of agritourism's benefits.
This publication reviews the results of a survey conducted to assess the distribution of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GLRaV) and grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) in North Carolina. It provides information on identifying disease symptoms, collecting samples, submitting samples for virus testing, and best grapevine virus management practices for new vineyards and established mature vineyards.
This publication discusses how residents of the North Carolina Triad area perceive the benefits of local wine tourism.
This chapter discusses the principles of grapevine dormant pruning, reviews reasons for vine training, and describes systems appropriate for use in North Carolina. Profitable grape production requires that grapevines be managed so that a large area of healthy leaves is exposed to sunlight. Such vines are likely to produce large crops of high-quality fruit each year. Grapevines must be trained and pruned annually to achieve this goal. The training system chosen generally dictates how the vines are pruned. Thus, pruning practices and training systems are discussed together in this chapter.
This publication discusses research on under trellis cover crops at a North Carolina commercial vineyard and the impact of the practice on grapevine vigor, yield, vine balance, and fruit chemistry. It also covers under trellis cover crop management, common pitfalls, and mistakes to avoid.
Vineyard establishment involves careful planning, thorough site preparation, vineyard design, planting, and trellis construction. Unlike dormant pruning or other annual activities, designing and establishing a vineyard must be done correctly the first time. In addition, the process must be tailored to the particular site and the grower’s intentions. This chapter discusses the basic steps in establishing a vineyard and offers suggestions for practical methods and materials.There are many alternatives. Although this chapter may be used as the sole source of information for vineyard establishment, it is advisable to obtain and compare information from additional sources before beginning. References provided here include more detailed information on particular aspects of vineyard establishment, such as trellis construction. It is also helpful to visit existing vineyards to examine their design, compare trellising materials, and discuss plant and row spacing.
Grapevines require 16 essential nutrients for normal growth and development (Table 9.1). Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are obtained as the roots take in water and as the leaves absorb gases. The remaining nutrients are obtained primarily from the soil. Macronutrients are those used in relatively large quantities by vines; natural macronutrients are often supplemented with applied fertilizers.The micronutrients, although no less essential, are needed in very small quantities. When one or more of these elements is deficient, vines may exhibit foliar deficiency symptoms, reduced growth or crop yield, and greater susceptiblity to winter injury or death. The availability of essential nutrients is therefore critical for optimum vine performance and profitable grape production.
To grow more consistent crops and improve your cash flow in years with damaging frost events, this chapter will show you how you can: 1) identify an active protection system to protect your vineyard during budbreak and early shoot development, 2) use the basic principles of frost and frost/freeze protection to deal with complex cold protection scenarios, so that you use your active protection system(s) efficiently, and 3) operate the equipment correctly.
Crop prediction or estimation is the process of projecting as accurately as possible the quantity of crop that will be harvested. Why estimate the crop? The most obvious reason is to know how much crop will be present for sale or utilization. Beyond that fundamental reason, it is also important to know whether vines are undercropped or overcropped. In the absence of methodical crop estimations, the experienced grower can rely on past vineyard performance.This approach is subject to error, however, especially in grape regions subject to spring frosts or winter injury, which can greatly affect a vineyard’s productivity from year to year.
This publication contains contact information for the authors of The North Carolina Winegrape Grower's Guide.
This publication gives an overview of sour-rot management in European-style grapevines in North Carolina. We explain what the causes of sour rot, show pictures, discuss susceptible cultivars and give management recommendations.
Grapes are subject to attack by many different pests, including nematodes, fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens, insects, and wildlife, such as deer and birds.Weeds, which compete with the vines for soil moisture and nutrients, may also be included in this list. Recognizing and understanding the nature of these pests is essential to minimizing crop losses.This chapter briefly describes the major pests that routinely threaten bunch grapes in North Carolina and discusses control measures.
High-quality wines — those that command premium prices — can be produced only from high-quality grapes. Grape quality can be defined in various ways, but ripeness and freedom from rots are two of the chief qualities. Producing ripe fruit with minimum rot and maximum varietal character is not easy in North Carolina. As described elsewhere in this publication, the combination of climate, soils, and vine vigor often leads to excessive vegetative growth. For reasons that will be discussed, luxurious vegetative growth can reduce vine fruitfulness, decrease varietal character, degrade other components of fruit quality, and hamper efforts at disease control. Canopy management practices can help alleviate these problems.
Like other perennial plants, mature grapevines have extensive root systems and therefore, unlike shallow-rooted annual plants, they are fairly tolerant of mild droughts. Nevertheless, a certain amount of moisture is necessary to support growth and development. Lacking sufficient moisture, vines will suffer water stress, which can reduce productivity as well as fruit quality. Supplemental moisture can be provided by permanent (solid-set) or temporary irrigation systems. Drip irrigation has become the standard water delivery system for North Carolina vineyards in recent years. Drip irrigation can represent a substantial investment (see chapter 2 for details), but the benefits can far outweigh the costs in many vineyards. In 2005, it was estimated that drip irrigation would cost $22,743 to purchase and install the equipment required for a 10-acre drip system, or $2,274 per acre. Drip irrigation can be as effective on steep slopes as on rolling and flat surfaces.
Grapes grown in North Carolina are sometimes exposed to unfavorable climatic conditions and biological pests that can reduce crops and injure or kill grapevines. Climatic threats include low winter temperatures, late spring frosts, excessive summer heat, and unpredictable precipitation. Biological pests include fungal pathogens and insects that attack the foliage and fruit of vines, as well as birds, deer, and other wildlife that consume fruit and shoots.Vineyard site selection greatly affects both the frequency and severity of these problems and is one of the most important factors affecting profitability in viticulture.
This survey was conducted online from June 30, 2019 to July 15, 2019 to ask muscadine fresh-market growers about heir largest issues of concern. Marketing and consumer education as well as the development of extended seasons through new breeding material were among the highest ranked priorities for muscadine growers in NC.
