Fungicide application

[bab]

Hi all. I'm new to the site and was wondering if anyone knows of a good way to apply fungicides to a backyard vineyard of 200 vines. I have a hand sprayer and a cart sprayer I pull behind my quad, but this year I had a terrible time trying to control black rot here in SW Pennsylvania.

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

The hand and cart sprayers should work fine for that amount of vines, that's about the same that I have. You have to start spraying early spring right at bud break. also remove any clippings of vines from the ground around your plants.
what type of plants and what is your lay out? how far between plants and between rows? what type of trellis? these will all have an impact on what and how often you spray.
good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[bchilders]

Hi Bab, welcome. What are you spraying and how often did you spray? I have about 150 vines and I use a 4gl backpack sprayer. It works well for now. My vineyard is in the north central part of NC and we had a lot of rain. Most vineyards around me were spraying every couple of days. It depends on what you spray and how much rain you get as to how often you can and should spray. My vinifera vines were hit hard while my hybrid vines did OK. The few muscadines I have were not affected by any fungus to speak of.

 

[bab]

I have noiret, Corot noir, Vidal, seyval, niagara. I have all but the niagara on vertical shoot systems spaced 6' apart with 8' between rows. I've been spraying captan, sulfur and copper every other week, switching which one I apply. I attempt to thin the canopy, but it seems I'm not getting adequate coverage with those sprayers. I was wondering if anyone knows of a reasonable mist sprayer with a fan to improve coverage, or a homemade model someone has rigged up. This is the first year I actually have lost a significant amount of my crop to disease. Thanks

 

[grapeman]

Cifarelli make both a backpack version and a skid mount version of mist blower sprayers for low volume spraying with air application. For a small operation they work well and get good penetration of the canopy.
http://www.italianfarmmachinery.com/company_details.asp?id=205

Also if you include a mancozeb product such as Manzate or Dithane, it is much more effective at black rot control. I use it early instead of Captan and switch to Captan after the risk of infection lessons and you approach the 66 day pre-harvest interval.

 

[bab]

Thanks grapeman. I'm going to check out that sprayer.

 

[saddlebronze]

Whatever you spray with, the key is to apply the right product at the right time and in the right way. For bugs it is easier, you see a bug, you spray. With most fungicides, by the time you see anything, it is too late, so you need to follow a regular spray program from bid break through harvest, especially reapplying after rains. You also need to wet the fruit and foliage thoroughly which is a challenge.