PROTECTANTS FOR TRUNK-DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA TABLE GRAPES

Trunk diseases are best managed when vineyards are young, before infections are established. Preventative applications of pruning-wound protectants may minimize infections and thus prevent the severe yield losses that typically occur when trunk diseases go unmanaged. Protectants have been evaluated in field trials on wine grapes, but not on table grapes. Our goal is to determine which protectants are most effective. Summer 2017 was notable for numerous statewide reports of the Esca symptom known as ¿apoplexy¿, when entire vines wilt and die from this trunk disease. These reports opened our eyes to gaps in the research on Esca (aka Measles), relative to other trunk diseases. We aim to fill these gaps, so we can make accurate recommendations to growers about managing all trunk diseases, including Esca.