2545 W. TURNER RD. LODI, CA 95242 • 209-367-4727 • FAX 209-367-0737 • www.lodiwine.com

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS LAUNCHES

Integrated Viticulture Online

newsRESEARCH • IPM AP

RIL

20

07

L O D I W I N E G R A P E C O M M I S S I O N

The University of CaliforniaDavis recently launched awonderful new website called“Integrated Viticulture Online”which can be found athttp://iv.ucdavis.edu/. It isdesigned to increase accessibilityto the work of UC researchers,including faculty, CooperativeExtension Specialists, FarmAdvisors and staff. Not onlydoes it cover UC Davis peoplebut also anyone else within theUC system that is currentlyworking on grapes or has doneso in the past. The website isdesigned and maintained by theUC Division of Agriculture andNatural Resources IntegratedGrape Production Workgroup.However, Dr. Deborah Golino, Director of the FoundationPlant Services, with the assistance of Beverly Ferguson, hasdone a large portion of the work to get the website up andrunning. Deborah is also chair of the committee thatoversees the website.

The website has been designed to make negotiatingthrough a large and diverse database of information as easyas possible. On the left side of the Home Page is a menu ofchoices. The first selection is ‘UC Grape Researchers’ whichif you click on it takes you to an alphabetical list of peoplewho work on grapes or have done so in the past. When youclick on a name of interest it takes you to a webpage with thecontact information for that person. Also, the website allows

any of these people to add infor-mation of their choosing to thewebsite. So when you click onsomeone’s name you may find abiography of them or a list ofrecent publications as well astheir contact information.

The second menu selectionon the Home Page is ‘ViticulturalInformation’. When you click onthis selection you are taken to awebpage that has an alphabeticallist of 28 viticultural topicsarranged by general category,such as breeding, cultural prac-tices, disease, rootstocks,vineyard economics, etc. Whenyou click on a topic of interestyou are taken to a webpage thatlists specific areas of that topic.

For example, if you click on ‘Rootstocks’ you are presentedwith a list of rootstocks and clicking on any one of themtakes you to a webpage with information on that rootstock.

The third menu selection on the Home Page is‘Resources’. Clicking on this takes you to a webpage thatcontains a list of six resources: University of CaliforniaResources, Scientific Organizations, State of CaliforniaResources, Journals and Newsletters, Resources of theUnited States, and Libraries and Special Collections.Clicking on any one of these will take you to lists ofresources within each of these areas. For example, if youclick on ‘University of California Resources’ you arepresented with a list of links to websites for resources like

BY CLIFF OHMART Research/ IPM Di rector

2 APRIL 2007

Trellis Alliance, UC Davis Extension, UC Integrated PestManagement Program, etc.

The fourth menu selection on the Home Page is ‘UCPublications’. When you click on this selection you arepresented with a webpage that lists the major sources of UCPublications which are the Agriculture and NaturalResources Catalog, California Agriculture and University ofCalifornia Press. Clicking on these links takes you to publi-cations they have produced on viticulture and wine topics.Also on the UC Publications webpage are synopses offeatured books that have recently been published on variousaspects of viticulture.

The next menu selection on the Home Page linksyou to a list of the talented people that are on the Committee

Kyle Lerner has an interesting combinationof experiences that make him one of themany interesting growers who producewinegrapes in Lodi. He has been growingwinegrapes for about 14 years yet when hewas a kid he had no idea he would befarming, his children will be the sixthgeneration of farmers in Lodi if theychoose to continue in the business and thefourth generation on the land they own,he has a passion for growing the highestquality winegrapes possible, and he and hisfamily are about to release their first winelabel. So how did all of this happen?

Kyle grew up in north Stockton wherehis dad was a police officer for over 30years. His first experience of farmingoccurred when he was a young teenagervisiting relatives in South Dakota who farmed wheat and rancattle. He was allowed to drive a Caterpillar tractor and, asKyle so aptly put it, “I made my first mark in the earthrelated to farming”. However, it would be quite a few yearsbefore he took the next step to becoming a farmer.

Growing up in north Stockton put him in the LodiSchool district where he graduated from Tokay High School.Not before meeting and dating Jorja Mettler, who is from along line of Lodi farmers. Kyle went off to Fresno StateUniversity and got a degree in finance. He and Jorjacontinued to date and eventually married. Kyle’s major infinance was OK by her because having grown up on a farm

and witnessing first hand the financialstrain and long hours, she was not sure shewanted to marry a farmer.

Kyle graduated with the idea thathe was heading toward a career in thebanking industry. However, his graduationcoincided with the infamous Savings andLoan banking scandals and banking took atemporary down turn providing him noreal job opportunities. He therefore took ajob as a regional sales manager for acompany named Primestar, which madesmall satellite dishes for home TV. He wasthe first person to sell them in NorthernCalifornia. Unfortunately, Kyle was on theroad a lot and was starting to becomedissatisfied and stressed out working in thecorporate world. Coincidentally, Jorja’s

father, George, needed some help in his vineyards and Kyle,admitted green horn, offered to help out. He discovered hereally liked the work.

Kyle kept his day job in sales while helping in the vine-yards on the side. At the time George was farming only 175acres which was not enough to support both his family andKyle’s. Jorja is a Physical Therapist but as many of us knowit often takes more than one income to sustain a family’sfinances. Kyle liked winegrape growing so much he began tothink about how he could make the situation work for him. He decided to get a pest control operator’s license (PCO)and began doing custom spraying for other growers around

G R O W E R P R O F I L E Kyle Lerner

ACRES OWNED/MANAGED:650 Acres

VARIETIES:Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Merlot,

Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo,Alberino, Petite Sirah, Pinot Grigio,

Alicante Bouschet

that oversees the website. There is also a selection labeled‘Links’ that takes you to a web page with a list of links toother web pages that may or may not have been listed onsome of the other locations on the Integrated ViticultureOnline website. And finally, the last menu selection on theHome Page is a link to a calendar that lists up and comingevents related to viticulture.

If you want to know more about this very helpfulresource for viticulture you can attend an LWWC BreakfastMeeting 9am on April 19, 2007 at the Central Valley WasteManagement Services seminar room at 1333 East Turner Rd.Dr. Deborah Golino will discuss and demonstrate thewebsite. It should be a very interesting and worthwhilemeeting.

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LWC 3

After two high rainfall years in 2005and 2006, this year seems to beshaping up to be slightly belownormal. The soil moisture is still rela-tively good, because of some effectiverain events. A few vineyards probablydid benefit from a mid winter irriga-tion, but If you didn’t get one on, it isnot a problem. It may be a little easierto mange spring growth this year, butMother Nature may provide somesubstantial rain yet.

Budbreak is probably close tobeing on schedule for an average startin the next week to ten days (March15 plus or minus) as I write this. Goodcold mid winter chilling, decent soilmoisture and following a moderatecrop, the “Spring Push” of early shootgrowth should be uniform and fast.The abundant rainfall last season andthe excellent growing conditionsproduced huge canopies, which are

observed in some of the pruningweights in the last few weeks. Drierconditions this year may help reducethe possibility of strong to excessivecanopy development this year. Weedsand cover crops are beginning to putsome growth out as temperatures arewarming. There is a new weed publi-cation that is excellent and compre-hensive, but a little pricey; “Weeds ofCalifornia and Other Western States”ANR publication 3488. It is a goodinvestment, but you can get lots ofinformation also at the web sitewww.wric.ucdavis.edu. The expecta-tion is for an average crop in 2007,and although it is a long way toharvest, things look to start out aboutaverage.

If rainfall stays below normal (ifthere is such) we may be starting irri-gation a little earlier than the last twoyears. A good nutrient program and

I N T H E V I N E Y A R D

BY PAUL S. VERDEGAAL Univers i ty of Ca l i forn iaCooperat ive Extens ion Farm Advisor

adequate irrigation will help vinesbounce right back for this year, asgrapes seem to have that ability moreso than fruit and nut trees. This pastJanuary had 25 straight days when theminimum was below 30˚ Fahrenheitand few locations hit minimumsbetween 13˚ and 19˚ F. It probably isa real good idea to make sure nofittings or pipes are broken from theextreme cold, before the system isneeded.

With vine nutrients in mind, itmaybe good to invest in some potas-sium, but watch the nitrogen this year,especially if the crop looks average andgrowth is good. Petiole samples atbloom are not perfect, but can providesome guideline to potassium needsalong with micronutrients. You can geta close enough for nitrogen needs byestimating a percentage of last yearscrop and compare that to the potential

TOPICS COVERED:2007 Rain • Spring Disease Check • Irrigation Systems • Frost • Vine Nutrients • VMB/GWSS • Weeds • Web sites to check

4 IPM • RESEARCH

crop load this year. Remember to check irrigation

wells for water nitrate levels if thathasn’t ever been done to adjust for anynitrogen applied with irrigation water.Also don’t “rush” the nitrogen applica-tion before bloom unless you are usinga slow release fertilizers or compostand manures. With all that in mindyou may still be left with poor canes toprune and the best you can do is selectthe healthiest looking cane or prune toa few one bud spurs where necessary.Vines that are in generally good healthwill do the rest.

Besides nutrient application, othervineyard items for the spring to beready for include frost and protectingnew shoots from disease. Frost is onetopic always lurking in the mind of anygrower. There are four things toremember: 1) Low areas are suscep-tible to cold air accumulation resultingin frost; 2) windless nights of lowhumidity and low dew point are majorconcerns; wet soil that is cultivated(but not the day before) or low covercrop can be slightly warmer than highcover or weeds; 3) delayed and/ordouble pruning can delay budbreakand avoid cold conditions for another10 to 14 days; and if you are going todrip irrigate to “frost protect” youneed to apply the water at least 24 to36 hours ahead to allow some heataccumulation the day before to do anygood. And 4), copper sprays or bacte-ricides do not prevent freeze damage.

Curiously as this winter has beencolder than recent years, the topic ofGlobal Warming has heated up (sorry).A new cottage industry has sprung upto address this topic, but has seemed toignore most of the science that actuallyexists. Locally I checked our GrowingDegree Days (GDD) averaged over sixweather stations in the District for thelast 25 years. What I found was the“hottest five years in order of GDD

accumulation are: 1992, 1997, 2001,1984, 2006. The warmest July totalwas in 1988 and the coolest Septemberin 2005. For a range of views onclimate change check the web sites :www.realclimate.org,www.junkscience.com, orwww.co2science.org.

Powdery mildew was a problemlate in the year last season. A latedormant lime sulfur spray can behelpful in reducing powdery mildewand Phomopsis problems, but afterbudbreak is the important time tofocus on control, irrespective ofvariety or site. Recent research indi-cates dormant applications of limesulfur may help reduce long termproblems of measles or Esca caused byvine decline pathogens such asPhaeoacromonium and Phaeomoniellain addition to powdery mildew. Vinetraining after planting and avoidinglarge pruning wounds are currently themost effective strategies in dealingwith the less aggressive but still threat-ening Vine Decline “cousins” ofEutypa Dieback. From budbreak untillate May is a good time to be on thelookout for Eutypa affected shoots orfor dead spurs most probably from Botcanker (Botryosphaeria spp). Althoughfoliar symptoms are different theyboth cause the pie shaped cankers inolder wood. Mark those vines andbegin to think about a re-trainingstrategy and or pruning later in thedormant season. If you have specificquestions check www.ipm.ucdavis.edufor IPM Guidelines or give me a call.

For Phomopsis and powderymildew wettable sulfur after bud breakcan be very effective, although thereare many new materials and captan isstill available. Check the UC IPMguidelines and talk with your PCA orgive me a call. Wettable sulfur afterbudbreak can be a very effective andinexpensive choice for doubling up on

an early start to powdery mildewcontrol, while the addition of copperis a little less definitive as a help,except with Botrytis. Whatever thematerial of choice ends up being, agood powdery mildew programincludes: some sulfur (dust orwettable), rotation of materialsbetween years, and complete coverage,are each important

Remember to be on the look outfor the presence of Vine Mealy bug(VMB), which is continuing to spreadthroughout the state and in scatteredlocations around San Joaquin County.The over wintering crawlers tend to besmall and not active until afterbudbreak, but if you find vines withheavy amounts of black sooty mold,check those vines very closely andmark them. Look in any crackscrevices and loose bark and even downinto the soil on large roots. Also noteif there is a high amount of ant activityfairly early. Talk with your PCA orcheck www.ipm.ucdavis or www.vine-mealybug.uckac. And of course don’tforget about the Glassy Winged SharpShooter (GWSS) and the WesternGrape Leaf Skeletonizer (WGLS), theyboth are still lurking to the south andnorth of San Joaquin County.

For some general informationtwo new web sites may be worthchecking out if you have some freetime. For a new one stop search to viti-culture information try the IntegratedViticulture web site atwww.iv.ucdavis.edu or for grapevariety descriptions and a nationalnursery listing there is the NationalGrape Registry at www.ngr.ucdavis.eduThere seems to be more to think aboutthan ever, but the challenge makes foran interesting way to make a living, ifprices continue to improve.

Good luck in 2007.

LWC 5

1994 and 1995. The business grew rapidly and George andKyle formed Mettler and Son, Inc. They now own andmanage a combined 650 acres of vineyards.

Coming to winegrape growing from a non-farming back-ground has some possible advantages but also disadvantages.The disadvantages are that everything one does is new andthere is an amazing amount to learn. Kyle’s first and foremostsource of information was his father-in-law George. “He isthe best mentor I could have”, Kyle says without hesitation.He also took classes at University of California Davis,attended LWWC grower meetings, and sought out manyother sources of information on winegrape growing.

One advantage of coming from outside winegrapegrowing, at least in some people’s minds, is that one has nopreconceptions of how things should be done. In other words,one escapes the notion of doing things as they’ve always beendone. As Kyle got more involved in vineyard management asa part of his PCO business he was struck by how somegrowers farmed by the calendar. When he asked them whythey answered by saying “Because that is the way it has alwaysbeen done”. Kyle’s financial background, along with encour-agement from his partner George, led him to question everypart of their farming plans. For many vineyard practices heasked himself is this the best thing to do? Is it the most effi-cient? Is it the best use of money? He felt it is important tonot only assess farming practices based on their environ-mental impacts but they also should be assessed using aneconomic yardstick. In other words the economic ‘E’ of thethree ‘E’s’ of sustainability.

Kyle, like many Lodi growers, uses everything at hisdisposal to help him become a more sustainable winegrowersuch as consulting grower mentors like George, University ofCalifornia resources like Paul Verdegaal, attending LWWCmeetings and participating in LWWC programs. His latestventure, with the help of family, is to vertically integrateMettler and Son, Inc. by releasing wine under their own labelsand open a winery and tasting room in 2008.

In his ‘spare’ time Kyle is active in the Lodi District GrapeGrowers Association and has recently been elected President.He has also begun the process of certifying some of his vine-yards under the Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowingprogram which he hopes will help differentiate his wines inthe marketplace.

Kyle, his wife Jorja and kids Ian 5 and Kirsten 7, epito-mize The Lodi Rules program’s sustainability statement, “InLodi, our wines are grown with extra care by generations offarming families. We are responsible to our land, our workers,the community we live in, and to all those who enjoy ourgreat wines”.

On December 5th, at a ceremony in the CalEPA

Building in Sacramento, the Lodi Winegrape

Commission was presented with The Governor’s

Environmental and Economic Leadership Award,

the State of California’s highest and most presti-

gious environmental honor. The program recog-

nizes individuals, organizations, and businesses

operating in California that have demonstrated

exceptional leadership.

In the awards ceremony, Governor Arnold

Schwarzenegger’s message stated, “Tonight’s

award recipients have demonstrated a tremendous

commitment to preserving our natural resources,

while also contributing greatly to our economy. The

individuals, organizations and businesses being

honored have my utmost gratitude for pursuing

innovative and effective strategies that protect both

our environment and the well-being of our business

communities.”

“This award is a real honor,” said Dr. Cliff

Ohmart, Research/IPM Director of the Lodi-

Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. “Being

California’s top environmental award, it recognizes

years of hard work by all Lodi winegrowers to

become the leaders in sustainable winegrowing.

Lodi’s winegrowers believe that they have an oblig-

ation to their families and community, both past

and future, to do the right thing and preserve the

land to ensure generations to come have the same

healthy environment that is available today.”

The Governor’s Environmental and Economic

Leadership Awards program is administered by the

California Environmental Protection Agency and

Resources Agency, in partnership with California’s

Business, Transportation and Housing Agency,

State and Consumer Services Agency, and the

California Department of Food and Agriculture. In

2006, the LWWC was one of only three organiza-

tions honored for their work in the field of sustain-

able practices or facilities.

LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION

Wins the Governor’sEnvironmental and

Economic LeadershipAWARD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

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STOCKTON, CAApril 19, 2007 9 am – 10:30 am. Introduction to UC Integrated Viticulture Online by Dr. Deborah Golino, Director of

University of California Foundation Plant Services, Davis California. Dr. Golino will describe and demonstrate this new

website which presents all of the research results that have been done at the University of California on viticulture. Central

Valley Waste Management Services seminar room, 1333 East Turner Rd., Lodi.

May 8, 2007 9 am – 10:30 am. Crop estimation and vine response by John (JJ) Gonsalves, Grower Services,

Constellation Wines, Lodi. John will use over eight years of weather data and vine response to look at how various vine

parameters are related to yield and discuss ways some could be used for crop estimations.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS