Powdery mildew has been infecting vineyards since we began cultivating grapes. If you blink, you may miss the signs that powdery mildew is creeping into your vines. Sound familiar?
After primary infections colonies of the powdery mildew fungus spread over the surface of the vine tissues. The fungus enters the tissue, absorbs nutrients and slowly kills surface cells. After 5-32 days (usually 5-12 days), depending on temperature, the fungus sporulates. These spores are spread by wind and may cause secondary infection within 24 h if conditions are favourable. The fungus can go through at least three cycles of infection before leaf symptoms are first detected in vineyards.
(Emmett et al., 1992).
Powdery mildew can infect your vines before any signs of the infection are visible. To avoid this issue vineyards all over the world are using the Risk Assessment Index (RAI) model. Growers have found that the RAI really helps them understand which vineyards are sensitive and prone to mildew infections. Using a more effective approach to pest management, growers moved away from strict calendar applications and began to modify spraying intervals based on the model. They ended up spraying and dusting much less in some vineyards, while in others, they treated more because they realized that mildew pressure was much higher.
Don't wait until it's too late. When leaf symptoms are detected through visual inspection, the disease has already established itself in your vines.
Anticipate this event using vineyardIQ and RAI model analysis to let you know when disease pressure is changing. Save your grapes when a high disease pressure is indicated. Save time, money and improve quality when the disease pressure is low.
Collect and analyze vineyard data in real-time to assess risk of powdery mildew infection.
View the results of the analysis in tabular or graphical data representation at daily or hourly resolutions.
Receive up to the minute visual and audible notifications on the web and mobile devices.
Environmental data collected and stored for analysis.
Information to help you make important decisions, at your fingertips.
Up to the minute alerts on all your devices.
For the BC grower, there is no cost for a Basic hardware and software setup. vineyardIQ will supply and install the hardware in your vineyard, set up the network and configure the software for your operation. All at no cost during our Field Test program.
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