grapes

The Spotted Lantern Fly Is A Big Problem | Earth Wise

October 27, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest from Asia that arrived in the United States seven years ago. It is a handsome and colorful insect, but it feeds on the sap of more than 70 plant species, leaving them susceptible to disease and destruction from other natural antagonists. It destroys fruit crops, trees, and plants by hopping from plant to plant, crop to crop, and tree to tree.

Several states have established quarantines aimed at preventing the spread of the insects. Pennsylvania, where they were first detected in the U.S., issued an Order of Quarantine and Treatment that imposes fines and even potential criminal penalties on anyone who intentionally moves a spotted lanternfly, at any stage of its life, from one sort of location to another. The insects hop and fly only short distances, but they can hitch a ride on vehicles, clothing, and other objects that people bring with them. They have now spread to at least nine states, primarily in the Northeast.

Lanternflies arrived in New York City last year and quickly made it to the Most Wanted List for environmentalists. The City’s Parks Department says: “If you see a spotted lanternfly, squish it, dispose of it, and report it to us.” New York’s Department of Agriculture has asked people in the Finger Lakes region, home of numerous vineyards, to collect specimens and provide specifics on where they were found.

Lanternflies are harmless to humans, but they threaten everything from oak, walnut, and poplar trees to grapes, almonds, and fruit orchards. As the species continues to spread across the country, federal and state officials have a unified message: if you come across a spotted lanternfly, kill it.

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Die, Beautiful Spotted Lanternfly, Die

Photo, posted August 30, 2018, courtesy of the USDA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Wine And Wildfire Smoke | Earth Wise

September 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Rising global temperatures have made droughts and heatwaves more common and intense, leading to larger and more destructive wildfires. In 2020, wildfires in California blackened more than 4 million acres, the largest wildfire season on record. With its continuing drought, California has already had 1.5 million acres burned by wildfires this year, and the fires continue.

Wildfires can cause extensive damage throughout the agricultural industry by destroying crops and killing livestock. But the fires can have a unique effect on the wine industry: wine grapes can be affected by smoke taint.

Vineyards have demonstrated themselves to be good fire breaks. They definitely help prevent the movement of wildfires. But there is no way to stop smoke from the fires from drifting into vineyards. By far, the damage caused by smoke far outweighs direct losses from fires in vineyards.

Winemakers sometimes add subtle smoky notes to their vintages by aging them in toasted oak barrels. But wildfire smoke permeating vineyards – even from distant blazes – can end up making wines undrinkable. Smoke-tainted wines end up having unpleasant aromas that people describe as being like disinfectants or burnt rubber.

With wildfires an increasingly persistent presence in California, the state’s $43 billion wine industry is facing a major challenge. An estimated 165,000 to 325,000 tons of California wine grapes went unharvested last year, adding up to more than $600 million in losses from fire and smoke. The industry will need to figure out ways to detect and manage smoke taint as the problem isn’t going to go away.

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Wildfire Smoke: An Emerging Threat to West Coast Wines

Photo, posted July 25, 2021, courtesy of Felton Davis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Mildew With Robots | Earth Wise

July 10, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cornell Researchers have partnered with Norwegian company SAGA Robotics to develop autonomous robots that can roam vineyards at night armed with ultraviolet lamps that can kill powdery mildew, which is a pathogen that devastates many crops, including grapes.

The robots are being field tested on Chardonnay grapes at two sites: Cornell AgriTech’s research vineyards in Geneva, New York, and at Anthony Road Wine Co. in Penn Yan, New York.

Cornell has been researching the use of UV light to kill grapevine powdery mildew for nearly 30 years. They have also worked with the University of Florida on using it to control powdery mildew in strawberries.

The UV treatment has been shown to suppress powdery mildew over a period of two years with the application of treatments once a week. The technique represents a breakthrough because the mildew can adapt to chemical anti-fungal sprays in a single season, making them ineffective. UV light damages DNA, but mildews have natural biochemical defenses that are triggered by the blue light present in sunlight. By applying the UV at night, when there is no blue light from the sun, the defenses of the mildew are defeated.

In earlier trials, the researchers used UV lamps mounted on a tractor wagon, but this required all-night labor to treat an entire vineyard. That has now been replaced with autonomous vehicles that can work seven nights a week, all night long.

The next development will be imaging technology that will detect and quantify mildew on grape leaves. With this, the dose of UV light applied to a particular vine will depend on whether it is sick or healthy.

A high-tech solution to a problem that plagues vineyards.

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Robots armed with UV light fight grape mildew

Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Onofre/Twitter.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Whine While You Can

October 15, 2015 By EarthWise

There are lots of potential impacts associated with global climate change – shifts in the distribution of plants are among them. Most plant species are adapted to a range of climate conditions. If the climate changes, their habitat can shift as well. This is true for crop and forestry plants, as well as native species.

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