COLDSNAP: AN ONLINE BUD COLD HARDINESS PREDICTION TOOL TO ASSIST GRAPEVINE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

The goal of this project is to develop an online tool for grape growers that uses recently developed models to estimate bud cold hardiness throughout the dormant period from temperature data available through a wide weather network. This information will assist growers in cultivar and site selection for vineyard establishment, as well as making time sensitive decisions to protect grapevines from winter injury in established vineyards, thus minimizing crop and vine losses and increasing the long-term sustainability of the grape and wine industries in the Midwestern and eastern states.This project proposes to enhance the economic sustainability of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. grape industry by minimizing crop and vine losses due to cold damage through: 1) validating and expanding two newly developed bud cold hardiness prediction models through analysis of regionally diverse data collected in the New York, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Quebec, 2) implementing model programming and development of the "ColdSnap Grape Bud Hardiness Model", producing a stakeholder accessibility-minded online tool that leverages customized climate data hosted by the Network for Environment and Weather Applications, and 3)developing educational resources for growers and provide extension-led outreach efforts to facilitate information dissemination and implementation.