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University of California's Feb. 19 workshop geared to San Joaquin Valley growers.

Pamela Kan-Rice, Assistant director, news and information outreach, UCANR

January 17, 2019

2 Min Read
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A mechanical pruner works in a 40-acre University of California Cooperative Extension research vineyard in Oakville, Calif. The device will be demonstrated in a workshop for San Joaquin Valley growers.Kaan Kurtural/UCANR

On Feb. 19, San Joaquin Valley grape growers are invited to discuss the latest UC research on mechanical pruning, trunk disease and rootstocks with UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists in Fresno. Growers will also get to observe a field demonstration of grapevines being mechanically pruned.

“We have been hearing from California grape growers that they are having a hard time finding enough workers to maintain their vineyards and increasing labor cost starts challenging grape-farming economic sustainability so we are studying the use of machines to reduce the number of people needed to perform tasks such as pruning,” said George Zhuang, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor for Fresno County. 

Gabriel Torres, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor for Tulare and Kings counties, will discuss plant diseases that may result from trunk injuries and pruning wounds from the machinery. 

Karl Lund, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor for Mariposa, Merced and Madera counties, will discuss how to select rootstock for a vineyard that will be mechanically managed. 

“Because the canopy architecture and yield characteristics from mechanically pruned vines are much different from hand-pruned vines, the water and fertilizer requirements of mechanically pruned vines can be quite different,” Zhuang said. “Therefore, performance of different rootstocks under mechanical pruning system is critical to achieve both yield and fruit quality targets of grape production in the San Joaquin Valley.”

Kaan Kurtural, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture specialist in the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology, will go over the basic principles of mechanical pruning of wine grape vines.

From 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists will meet with growers in a Golden State Vintners vineyard at 7409 W Central Ave in Fresno.  

“We will discuss current grape issues and the future of viticulture in the valley,” Zhuang said.

The meeting, which is being co-hosted by UC Cooperative Extension and San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association, is free. For more information, contact Zhuang at [email protected] or (559) 241-7506.

Source: University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

About the Author(s)

Pamela Kan-Rice

Assistant director, news and information outreach, UCANR, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

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