By Carrie White
Green thumb or not, large agricultural acreage or small backyard plot, all growers encounter pests.
The dilemma: what is the most effective approach in dealing with grapevine trunk disease or red blotch?
Matt Halldorson, director of the Yavapai County Extension, will share his knowledge on this subject at an Integrative Pest Management (IPM) Workshop from 9am to noon on Tuesday, April 8 at Dos Cabezas Wineworks in Sonoita. While the free session is geared toward wine growers, home gardeners can benefit from the concepts. No reservations are required.
“This workshop is a great way to learn more about realistic and economical pest control methods, especially if you are looking to use less pesticides,” Halldorson wrote in response to PRT questions. “The beauty of IPM is that it is a philosophy more than a specific pest or crop.”
In a nutshell, IPM is a science-based process for making pest management decisions. It uses multiple strategies (integrative), approaching pest management on a holistic level while understanding the biology and life histories of hosts, pests and enemies. It also takes into consideration the economic consequences of management decisions.
“Certainly mammals can have adverse effects on vineyards and other crops,” Halldorson said. And for that reason, many wine producers and backyard gardeners fence their crops. But pathogens like sour rot disease and Pierce’s Disease are also of great concern. Monsoon rains can leave plants susceptible to these diseases.
“Complete eradication of a given pest is generally not the goal [of IPM],” Halldorson wrote. “Pesticides may be used, but in a manner that minimizes the risk to both human and environmental health.”
Kent Callaghan, whose wines were recently recognized at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, uses a form of IPM.
“I wouldn’t say we follow all of what their guidelines are, but it is essentially the same thing,” Callaghan said. “We run safe pesticides. You only spray when you need to. You don’t worry about small populations, you’re not trying to knock them out completely.”
The biggest pest issue for Callaghan? “I want to say cucumber beetle, but they’ve actually identified it as something else—I forgot the name. It starts on the edges of the vineyard and usually goes all along the southern edge. It works its way up if you allow it. That’s one thing that I don’t wait too long on, because the populations can get incredibly high.” Another pest is the rape leaf skeletonizer, which eat the leaves. However, Callaghan said they are “fairly easy” to take care of.
While the name ‘Integrative Pest Management’ may indicate a labor-intensive practice, Callaghan said that’s not the case for him. Often he just does a spray in the morning, when there is not too much wind.
In its pure form, IPM has different modalities depending on the time of year. Proper pruning in the winter sets the parameters for what size and shape the plant is and how much fruit it will produce. This ensures an open canopy that prevents pests finding suitable habitat.
“Scouting for pests and disease is something that can be done year-around when growers are in the vineyard doing other tasks or when gardeners are out hand-watering their plants,” Halldorson said. “Proactively finding issues before they become a problem is key to IPM.”