438832.3 How to Develop a Vineyard Pest Management Strategy
- Examine your vineyard operation closely. Break it down into specific vineyards, or "vineyard blocks."
- Produce a map of each vineyard (or vineyard block) to record pest outbreaks, nutrient deficiencies, drainage problems, missing vines, and any other abnormalities you find.
- Develop a record keeping system for each vineyard or vineyard block.
- Develop a scouting plan for each vineyard block and record results.
- Monitor and record weather factors and understand basic weather patterns of the area.
- Keep accurate records of applications or tools used to manage pests.
- Develop a thorough knowledge of the vineyard pests you are likely to encounter during the year. This includes basic pest biology, symptoms or damage they cause, whether they are a primary or secondary pest, scouting thresholds, and the best time to apply management practices.
- Choose a pest management strategy for that vineyard (or vineyard block) that is based on all of the information you've gathered. Use the options that make the most sense for your operation.
- Continue your pest management education.
With all the changes that are occurring these days, there is really no such thing as a traditional spray program anymore. That's why it's so important to keep learning about pest management. This is probably the most important factor in successfully managing vineyard pests.
This publication can provide you with a great deal of the research-based information necessary to develop a pest management strategy for your vineyard, or to deal with a sporadic pest that pops up during the year. See Section 2.5 for a list of Cornell publications on weeds, pests, and diseases of grapevines.