Promoted Practices
VineBalance
promotes the adoption of best management practices that increase the sustainability
of grape production throughout the state.
New York’s cool-climate viticulture faces a diversity of challenges including variations in soil type, winter weather, disease and pest pressures, and varieties grown. Each production region is unique: Long Island is characterized by sandy soils, mild winters and exclusively vinifera varieties; the Lake Erie Region possesses gravelly loam and clay soils and primarily bulk juice and wine grapes; and the Finger Lakes Region has a mix of native, hybrid and vinifera varieties grown predominantly in clay and gravel soils along the steep slopes of the lakes.
VineBalance addresses this diversity through its 134-question grower self-assessment workbook and subsequent action plan development. The main issues covered include:
- Soil management to reduce erosion, runoff and leaching and improve soil health
- Integrated pest management (IPM) techniques for insect, disease and weed control
- Nutrient management with a particular focus on nitrogen
- Pesticide storage and handling and modern spray technologies
- Vineyard floor management including cover crops and water use
- Canopy management techniques to enhance fruit quality and reduce disease pressure
More specifically, the program promotes individual practices such as:
Soils and Nutrients
- Pre-plant soil analysis and amendments (nutrients, organic matter, compaction, drainage, pH)
- Soil and water conservation structures (diversion ditches, buffer strips)
- Tile drainage
- Organic matter additions
- Regular soil and tissue sampling
- Efficient nitrogen use and timing of nutrient applications
- Safe and secure storage of fertilizers
Vineyard Floor and Water Management
- Mulching for water retention, organic matter, and erosion prevention
- Seeded cover crops and maintaining permanent cover between rows
- Hilling up vines to prevent winter injury
- Efficient irrigation
- Non-chemical and post-emergent weed management techniques
- Weed mapping to highlight problem areas and species
Viticulture/Canopy Management
- Selecting appropriate varieties and rootstocks
- Selecting appropriate training systems for the site and variety/rootstock
- Estimating and modifying yield through pruning and shoot and cluster thinning
- Increasing air flow and spray penetration into the canopy (managing vigor, leaf pulling, hedging)
- Optimal timing of canopy management for vinifera varieties especially
Integrated Pest Management
- Fruit exposure for reduced disease pressure
- Scouting for insects and diseases
- Utilizing thresholds for efficient pest management
- Selecting reduced risk pesticides
- Spot treatment of pests
- Critical fungicide spray timing (pre-bloom and post-bloom)
- Rotating agrichemicals to prevent resistance
Pesticide Management
- Safe and secure pesticide storage
- Tailor sprayer settings to canopy development stage
- Choosing equipment and practices that reduce spray drift and increase deposition
- Improving pesticide mixing and loading facilities