News from Cornell's Viticulture and Enology Program
Issue 9, March 2012
RESEARCH FOCUS
How Close are We to Crown Gall-free Nursery Stock? (pdf)
Dr. Tom Burr's laboratory is developing improved diagnostic tests for Agrobacterium vitis, causal agent of crown gall, and screening shoot-tip cultured vines for inclusion in the Foundation Plant Service's new foundation vineyard near Davis, CA. Crown gall-tested vines should delay and reduce crown gall problems in new vineyards.
FACULTY FOCUS
5 Questions for Ian Merwin
Ian Merwin, horticulture professor and longtime teacher of both viticulture and pomology courses, is phasing into retirement after playing an instrumental role in establishing viticulture and enology program at the college.
INDUSTRY FOCUS
Anthony Road Wine Company, Finger Lakes Grape Program and Finger Lakes Community College collaborate on new teaching vineyard
New teaching vineyard is a new resource for Cooperative Extension, FLCC students.
STUDENT FOCUS
Where Are They Now?
Graduates of Cornell's Viticulture and Enology program: Where are they now? Three grads share their experiences.
GRAPES 101
How Grapevines Reconnect in the Spring
In midwinter, buds are isolated from the rest of the vine's vascular system. Signals from the buds reactivate the vine's vascular cambium, reconnecting shoots, trunks, and roots - a process starting at budswell and ending at bloom.
BRIEFS
- The Heat is On: From Subways to Dairy Barns, Are New Yorkers Ready for Climate Change?
Climate change is happening, and it will transform how New Yorkers live, work, and play in the coming decades. The college is helping New York both prepare for the challenges and seize the opportunities of a climate in flux. More irrigation and a more amenable climate for cold-tender grapes are on tap for western New York.
RESEARCH IN PLAIN ENGLISH
- Regulating the availability of beer, wine, and spirits in grocery stores: Beverage-specific effects on prices, consumption, and traffic fatalities (pdf)
How do alcohol sales in grocery stores affect alcohol prices, alcohol consumption and traffic fatalities? Rickard and colleagues examine data from 1982 to 2000 from 48 states. - A camera and laser system for automatic vine balance assessment (pdf)
An automated system using a cameras and lasers determined crop weight and canopy volume to within 10% in Traminette, Concord, and Riesling, without manual cluster counting and weighing.
AWARDS
2012 Best Viticulture Paper Award. Cornell scientists Craig Austin, Jim Meyers, and Wayne Wilcox and Gary Grove of Washington State University have received the 2012 Best Viticulture Paper award from the American Society for Enology and Viticulture for their article entitled Powdery Mildew Severity as a Function of Canopy Density: Associated Impacts on Sunlight Penetration and Spray Coverage The ASEV committee selects one paper in the field of enology and one in the field of viticulture that is deemed outstanding in its content and a substantial contribution to the field. This work was described in a research focus article, published in Appellation Cornell in 2010, entitled Heat and UV Radiation from sunlight exposure inhibit powdery mildew.