We do now have an option for fungicide resistance testing of several pathogens of wine grapes. These include pathogens associated with powdery mildew, downy mildew, ripe rot, and Botrytis. Now is a good time to test, as pathogens are being observed in some vineyards, and testing now can allow you to switch fungicide classes to those that are active — as opposed to spraying materials that do not work well or that do not work at all. The Plant Molecular Diagnostic Lab can test for QoI (e.g. Abound and similar fungicides) activity on powdery mildew, downy mildew, ripe rot and anthracnose. Testing can also be conducted for the CAA fungicides (e.g. Zampro and similar fungicides in this class) activity on downy mildew. For Botrytis, testing can be conducted for several fungicide classes. There is a fee for these services, but I can’t think of many activities that will have more value for your wine grape operation. Applying fungicides that are no longer active will waste money, as well as increasing disease levels that can impact vine health and wine quality. Alejandra Maria Jimenez Madrid runs the clinic, and she will be more than happy to address questions you may have concerning this valuable service (a.jimenez@uga.edu).
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