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w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 5 Grapevine Disease Testing and Diagnosis We are always here to help you! ! ! $-+)%+/0#+*/) $-+)%/-1#1,.) & ! AL&L Crop Solutions, Inc Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory 45133 County Road, 32B Davis, CA 95618 " O r e g o n w i n e g r o w e r s a r e increasingly concerned about the effects of herbicide drift on vine- yard and other agricultural lands. To tackle the issue, they have started an educational campaign aimed at curtailing the use of these herbi- cides near vineyards with hopes that state regulations that restrict their use might one day be in place. "It's a big problem," said vine- yard manager Joel Meyers. Meyers oversees nearly 300 acres of vine- yards in Oregon through Vinetend- ers LLC. "My vineyards have been sprayed (via drift) every season for the last three years and my clients' vineyards on and off for the last 10. We've had 10 acres that have been sprayed just in the last week." The most common cause of drift damage in Oregon is 2,4-dichlo- rophenoxyacetic acid, commonly referred to as 2,4-D. A phenoxy herbicide used to control broad- leaf weeds, 2,4-D acts by mimick- ing hormones that regulate growth and development. When 2,4-D is sprayed or drifts onto vineyards during the growing season, it can have a profound effect. "I expect to have complete flower abortion based on what I've seen," Meyers said of his vineyard that was recently affected. Doug Tunnell of Brick House Vineyards, who has also experi- enced drift problems, said that the issue has become increasingly urgent as the state's wine industry has grown. "There is more vineyard land in the state than there has ever been and as a result there are more problems with drift," he said. The Oregon Department of Agri- culture (ODA) currently receives approximately 10 to 20 reports of spray drift per year of varying size and severity. Tunnell, however, said he believes the actual number of incidents is considerably higher. "A lot of people don't want to put the state between themselves and their neighbors," he said. To help combat the issue, the Oregon Winegrowers Association is selling 18-inch by 12-inch vineyard signs that read, "HELP PROTECT THIS VINEYARD. PLEASE DO NOT SPRAY HERBICIDES LIKE 2,4-D WITHIN 350 FEET." Tunnell, who is chair of the Oregon Winegrow- ers Association Land Use & Natural Resources Committee, said the signs have two goals. "The first is to avoid what hap- pens where a neighbor really isn't aware of the potential danger of using these products," he said. "The second is to try to raise conscious- ness and awareness that this is a real problem for sensitive plants." Tunnell said that while the 350- foot zone has been cited in several research studies, it is by no means completely protective. "It's just sort of a minimum," he said, noting that ester formulations of 2,4-D can drift for dozens of miles under the proper circumstances. Meyers said the signs may help in as many as half of the cases of 2,4-D drift in Oregon. "I think they will have a big effect," he said. "One of the situations this year if we had had the signs up, I think it wouldn't have happened." That still leaves the other half of the cases, and both Tunnell and Meyers hope the ODA will put reg- ulations in place to restrict the use of 2,4-D during the winegrowing season. Discussions are ongoing. "Both Washington and California have very, very strict control on the use of phenoxy herbicides," Tun- nell noted. "As the industry here in Oregon grows, we say, 'Why don't we have the same protections as our colleagues?' " "It's not only a grape issue," Meyers noted. "We've had almost a tripling of blueberries and organ- ics in Oregon. All of these crops are very sensitive to phenoxy drift. We have to eliminate the cause during the growing season." OREGON WINEGROWERS COMBAT HERBICIDE DRIFT BY SEAN P. SULLIVAN The Oregon Winegrowers Association is hoping these signs will raise awareness of the pesticide drift issue.