Some vines look really stunted - ideas?

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we5inelgr

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Hi all,

I have some Petite Sirah vines that were planted very late in the season, 3 years ago this Sept. within the Lodi Ca AVA.

There were quit a few clusters beginning to show several weeks ago. I dropped them all as I don't want these vines producing this year...want to wait for 3 full winters/summers (so next year).

Anyway, there are a few of the vines that appear to be really stunted in growth. Their leaves look a bit shriveled or curled at the edges. I don't notice any pests or other issues.

They currently get watered 3x a week with approx. 2 gals per vine per watering. The soil is well draining.

I've used no herbicides (or foliar sprays) of any kind on or near the vines this year.

All the rest of the PS vines look fine (as do nearby Cab Sauv vines).

Ideas on what's going on? :?

Thanks.

[Edit: Added info]
On a side note - the plants on the other side of the fence are ours. Beyond those, is a street. I've not sprayed those either because I'm in the process of tearing all that out so I can use the area to plant more vines that I'll try as head-trained :h

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My first though is weed killer spray injury even though it is limited to one area. The vines have normal leaves near the bottom of them and the new growth is curled and upward cupping. That is what happens with dicamba. That is often used in lawn weed control products and is not good for grapes. Possibly a neighbor put a product such as Trimec on their lawn which comes in many formulations such as weed and feed products. It can get airborn and move some distance (gasses not the actual spray). Other than that possibility I have no idea.
 
Thank you both, Mike and grapeman, for your reply's.

After reading your suggested possibilities, another thought came to mind.

We have a pest control service which sprays the perimeter of our yard and house every other month. He uses Talstar (active ingredient bifenthrin).

http://www.fmcprosolutions.com/Home/LabelsMSDS/Labels.aspx?name=Talstar Professional Insecticide

He's not supposed to be spraying the vines directly (although, I don't watch him spray so can't confirm) and from what I've read so far, it seems that it shouldn't be detrimental to the vines.
Example: http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/landingpage.cfm?article=ca.v055n04p22&fulltext=yes

However, it certainly sounds suspect.

Regardless if it's the insecticide or an airborne weed killer, etc. is there anything I could do to help rejuvenate the affected vines? Perhaps some pruning, or the use of a vitamin/mineral solution?
 
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Nothing you can really do except wait for the vines to grow out of it. You could ask a local extension office what they think it might be. It could be an insect infestation. Check the bottom of the leaves for insects such as mealy bugs, etc. The extension office know what insects and diseases are in your area.
 
Nothing you can really do except wait for the vines to grow out of it. You could ask a local extension office what they think it might be. It could be an insect infestation. Check the bottom of the leaves for insects such as mealy bugs, etc. The extension office know what insects and diseases are in your area.

Thanks for the tip grapeman. I'll ask around, and if any more details come out of it, I'll post in the hopes it may help others.

Prost!
 
Heard back from someone at our local extension office who is a:
Pomology, Viticulture, Environmental Horticulture, and Master Gardener Advisor
UC Cooperative Extension

He basically stated that it looks like herbicide damage and that there really wasn't anything to do but wait it out and let the affected vines "grow out of it."

He did provide me a link to a very useful site for Herbicide Symptom checking. It's a site that can be used for grape plants as well as others:
http://herbicidesymptoms.ipm.ucanr.edu/index.cfm

I input 'Grape' for plant and 'leaf cupping' for the symptom, and got many results with pictures, most of which look very very similar to our situation. I think w/o a doubt, our vines have 2,4-d damage as a result of drift as all of these descriptors apply:
excessive branching, leaf crinkling, leaf cupping, leaf curling, leaf distortion, leaf feathering, leaf-margin fingering, stunting

Looks like I'll just wait it out (after I had already given an extra Nitrogen dose).
 
Not that it really matters as damage is damage, but I still believe it is dicamba damage and not 2,4-d. I am not seeing the tell tale signs of fingerlike projections on the leaf edges that 2,4-d causes. Dicamba does not cause that but does the cupping. Dicamba also does not cause excessive branching as the 2,4-d can and the picture does not show it. Of course if somebody used Trimec anywhere near the vines, it contains both of them. The extra dose fertilizer may help it out and the vines should recover next year if not exposed again.
 

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