Spray Date: June 14, 2017
I was three days late in spraying due to conflicts with other chores as well as the weather. Planned spray date was June 11, but I put a few other chores ahead of spraying on Sunday. I have fallen behind on my mowing, and the heavy rains are pushing the grass well ahead of my schedule. I moved the spray date to Tuesday, but a downpour right at 6 p.m. brought 1.5 in. of rain in 90 minutes and pushed me to Wednesday. A business dinner that came up at the last minute meant I would be spraying at last light. I started mixing the chemicals at 8:20 p.m.
Again, I mixed a 25 gal. tank of witches brew—basically the same as May 28, but with the substitution of Captan for Manzate—and started spraying at about 8:45 p.m. Here is my tank mix:
The delay from Sunday to Wednesday cost me dearly. The Japanese beetle numbers exploded exponentially during the delay, and the infestation caused substantial damage to the vines. The bugs were piled up on the topmost leaves and surprisingly active well after dark. There was Downy mildew prominent on the Viognier, with additional outbreaks scattered throughout the vineyard. It was a little disheartening to see so much damage from the bugs and the mildew in only three days. I vowed then to never delay spraying again.
I was three days late in spraying due to conflicts with other chores as well as the weather. Planned spray date was June 11, but I put a few other chores ahead of spraying on Sunday. I have fallen behind on my mowing, and the heavy rains are pushing the grass well ahead of my schedule. I moved the spray date to Tuesday, but a downpour right at 6 p.m. brought 1.5 in. of rain in 90 minutes and pushed me to Wednesday. A business dinner that came up at the last minute meant I would be spraying at last light. I started mixing the chemicals at 8:20 p.m.
Again, I mixed a 25 gal. tank of witches brew—basically the same as May 28, but with the substitution of Captan for Manzate—and started spraying at about 8:45 p.m. Here is my tank mix:
- Revus Top—50 ml to prevent Black Rot, Downy Mildew and Powdery Mildew.
- Captan—400 ml. of liquid Captan.
- Rally—3.3 oz. dry weight of Rally.
- Agrifos—400 ml. of Agrifos
- Elevate—3.3 oz. of Elevate 30 WDG.
- Sevin RL—400 ml. of liquid Sevin concentrate.
- Latron B—1 fluid oz to the mix as a spreader-sticker.
I was able to spray all but two rows before I emptied the tank. Growth has been robust with all the moisture that it took another five gallons to complete the task. The last two rows were sprayed in total darkness, illuminated only by the motion lights on the shop and an LED headlamp on my cap. Clean-up was challenging, and I walked back in the house at 10:20 p.m.
The delay from Sunday to Wednesday cost me dearly. The Japanese beetle numbers exploded exponentially during the delay, and the infestation caused substantial damage to the vines. The bugs were piled up on the topmost leaves and surprisingly active well after dark. There was Downy mildew prominent on the Viognier, with additional outbreaks scattered throughout the vineyard. It was a little disheartening to see so much damage from the bugs and the mildew in only three days. I vowed then to never delay spraying again.
In the light of the next morning, I found plenty of dead beetles, and what had seemed like a serious Downy outbreak was less than it appeared in the dim light of dusk.
My friend Denny is advocating a 7-10 day schedule for the next few weeks, so I'm planning the next effort for Sunday, June 25. Delay is not an option.
Keep writing and describing how you are taking care of thevineyard and the winemaking process-- it is very interesting!
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