hose off or not

[Sage]

I've been spraying a lot this year. I see residue on the leaves and clusters. Is it a good idea to hose off the clusters a few days before harvest?? Nothing has been sprayed beyond it's label recommendation date. In fact the last sprays were organic types.

But, I still see residue and it wouldn't take much to hose off prior to cutting clusters.

 

[balatonwine]

We always have some rain between last spray and harvest. Even so, there is some residue on the leaves even at harvest. I rarely see any on the grapes however.

So I would say in your case it may depend on what you were spraying (for example, Serenade versus Bordeaux mix) and how much residue is actually there.

 

[Sage]

It is so easy for me to do, right now, I'm planning on it. Eliminate any chance of off flavor or unwanted chemical.

 

[dbeck]

You don't generally need to spray anything after the grapes are in full color and rain should take care of the rest.

 

[Sage]

I watered today. Decided yes, I will hose off. The vineyard is along my very dusty driveway. No rain for nearly 3 months and I plowed the new gravel to the side leaving mostly dirt. Dust is rolling over everything. I need to get the dust off before harvest. Taste test today says some varieties, or least part of the crop, will be ready in about 2 weeks. The rest 3-4 weeks.

 

[BlueStimulator]

Could some of the stuff you see be dust from the road?

 

[Floandgary]

Certainly cannot hurt anything...

 

[BigH]

I've been spraying a lot this year. I see residue on the leaves and clusters. Is it a good idea to hose off the clusters a few days before harvest??

The last spray I do before harvest is ziram, and it tends to leave a white residue on the clusters if I spray a touch too thick. It does not wash off easily (most likely because those fungicides are designed to stick)

Some would say that applying water to the berries before harvest is a bad idea. Might lower your brix and induce fungal problems. I have not tried it, so I can't say.

I have adopted a policy of hand washing the worst clusters after harvest, but for the most part, I have put my faith in the pre harvest interval's that I obeyed through the summer. I don't wash the vast majority of my clusters

H