Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/111102
Grapevine Nurseries Expand Product and Service Offerings More options available to grapegrowers for expansions and replants With U.S. demand still high for grapevine materials, the grapevine nursery industry has evolved to offer a wider selection of clean and certified clones, rootstocks and grafted combinations, and more proprietary clonal selections. Nurseries have also improved container growing practices, and offer different sizes of green potted vines. Some now provide vineyard site consulting and planting services. MORE CLONAL CHOICES Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at UC Davis is the National Grapevine Importation & Clean Stock Facility. The 2008 U.S. Farm Bill established the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN), which includes the Grape Clean Plant Network headquartered at FPS. In 2011, FPS began planting a 52 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 100-acre foundation vineyard at Russell Ranch near the UC Davis BY TED RIEGER, campus, under a new and higher SENIOR FEATURE EDITOR NCPN standard for clean plant propagation and virus testing known as "Protocol 2010." This expanded capaci t y, a l o n g w i t h F P S ' expanded relationships + Improved clean plant importation prowith grapevine nursergrams and nursery product expansions ies and research facilihave provided U.S. growers with a ties around the world, larger-than-ever selection of grapevine has greatly increased the clones and rootstocks. choices of clean and certi+ An increasing inventory of specialfied materials available to ized proprietary clones from France, U.S. growers from grapeItaly, Spain and Portugal are available vine nurseries. through U.S. grapevine nurseries. Individual U.S. nurseries have also developed + Nurseries offer more sizes of green potrelationships outside the ted vines and are using improved pots country to import and for better root development. offer grapevine materi+ Some nurseries now offer services such als, notably new varieties AT A GLANCE as site consulting for new plantings, and soil testing and mapping services. Duarte's new 36-inch-tall UberVines (left) sit next to standard 12-inch vines. Photo: Ted Rieger w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m