Too Late This Year; But I’m Needing Advice for 2024

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DaleM

Junior
Joined
Sep 20, 2023
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Location
Iowa
Hello to the group! As a new member, hopefully I’m in the right spot to ask these questions.
For context: I live in Western Iowa and only have 6 mature vines on a hillside with good drainage and the soil is a clay lomé, known regionally as the Loess Hills.
Over the last couple of years, harvest was dismal at best. Until this year, I believed it was due to draught conditions or critters (birds and raccoons) getting to ripe grapes before me. Now I believe it’s likely hat’s referred to as black rot?
The vines are growing well and look great, with no signs of disease and grapes were abundant until about August. This year, I made sure water wasn’t the issue, but the grapes started falling off, just before ripening. I did see one or two black spots on grapes and ”maybe”? 3-4 what I see referred to as mummies, but nothing extensive. It’s too late for this year, but hopefully next year with the right care, I can finally get a good harvest? I’m guessing that after the Spring pruning I need to tart spraying a fungicide(s) ??? For further information, the field behind my property has numerous junipers and I’ve fought Apple Rust on my two apple trees for years. I’ll be switching to Spectacide, Immunox next year for the Apple Rust, but if there’s a better alternative available in retail, please let me know.

Thanks for your time! Dale
 
Welcome to WMT! You definitely need a spraying regimen of sorts if you want disease free fruit that will make it to harvest.
 
Hello to the group! As a new member, hopefully I’m in the right spot to ask these questions.
For context: I live in Western Iowa and only have 6 mature vines on a hillside with good drainage and the soil is a clay lomé, known regionally as the Loess Hills.
Over the last couple of years, harvest was dismal at best. Until this year, I believed it was due to draught conditions or critters (birds and raccoons) getting to ripe grapes before me. Now I believe it’s likely hat’s referred to as black rot?
The vines are growing well and look great, with no signs of disease and grapes were abundant until about August. This year, I made sure water wasn’t the issue, but the grapes started falling off, just before ripening. I did see one or two black spots on grapes and ”maybe”? 3-4 what I see referred to as mummies, but nothing extensive. It’s too late for this year, but hopefully next year with the right care, I can finally get a good harvest? I’m guessing that after the Spring pruning I need to tart spraying a fungicide(s) ??? For further information, the field behind my property has numerous junipers and I’ve fought Apple Rust on my two apple trees for years. I’ll be switching to Spectacide, Immunox next year for the Apple Rust, but if there’s a better alternative available in retail, please let me know.

Thanks for your time! Dale
Hi - I too am a newbie -
in Vermont, due to pines and whatever else, black rot is an on going condition -
I have sprayed with Mancozeb (nasty stuff - be careful) when they first begin to leaf out and then every 10 days (usually four times) - you want to be 66 days out from harvest.
Hope this helps -
Shep
 

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