Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m N o v - D e c 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 6 7 SPRINKLER PROTECTION With the advent of sprinkler frost protection in the 1960s and 1970s, the industry said goodbye to air-pol- luting (and expensive-to-operate) smudge pots, and hello to very pre- dictable frost protection. Suddenly, it was possible to grow grapes in the lowest parts of our valleys, and to plant varieties that needed pro- tection early in the season, such as chardonnay and pinot noir. While the '60s and '70s were historically colder than today (as evidenced by more spring frost), they were also wetter, and we went through a period of ample rainfall and surface flows in creeks and riv- ers. Many growers built ponds to catch winter runoff, and they were able to have adequate water to operate their sprinklers and irrigate their vines throughout the growing season. The expansion of white- wine varieties on the fertile soils California's State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) proposed tough new rules to regulate frost protection along the Russian River in Mendocino and Sonoma coun- ties. The rules were put in place in part due to an incident in which 10 dead steelhead fingerlings (approxi- mately 1.5 inches long) were found in the main stem of the river fol- lowing a night of frost protection. The dead fish were attributed by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biologists to stranding by frost protection, even though water levels and fluctuations that night were within all regulations that NMFS had in place at that time for flow management of the Russian River. Although thousands of adult steelhead were allowed to be legal- ly caught that season by anglers, NMFS felt that these 10 dead fish represented a serious threat to the continuing existence of endangered salmonids. close to inland waterways and lakes was a result of this technology. Frost protection with sprinklers is still our most reliable method to prevent frost damage. The prob- lem is that it takes a lot of water (around 50 gallons per minute per acre). In the North Coast, we are using mostly surface water from reservoirs, rivers and streams. The flowing water also happens to be habitat for threatened and endan- gered salmonid fish (coho salmon and steelhead trout.) Unfortunately, the time of the year requiring large diversions of water for frost protec- tion is also a time when river and stream flows are low, and young fingerling fish can become stranded if too much water is diverted. REGULATIONS Following a difficult frost sea- son in 2008 with low flows and many nights of frost protection, The Industry's Most Trusted Source for... Advanced Crush Pad Equipment: OPTICAL SORTING – 100% CLEAN FRUIT (show both Pellenc Selective Winery & Optical Sorter with exploded view of fruit example) NEw Orchard Rite wind Machines: (Eastern Canada Only) & Quality USED Wind Machines (Throughout North America) New & Used Single & Multi – Row Sprayers t: 905.646.8085 I tf: 1.866.677.4717 I lakeviewvineyardequipment.com I 40 Lakeshore Rd., R.R. # 5 I Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON New Collard Leaf Removers & Hedgers & High Quality Used Canopy Management Tools Grape Harvesters: New & Field Ready Used Equipment Now Available with ON BOARD SORTING & DESTEMMING!!