Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/728583
18 OCTOBER 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com Northern Grapes Project is designed to encourage the wine industry in colder climates. by Leslie Mertz W hile years of research and fi eld experi- ence have provided solid information about how to grow European wine grape varieties that yield high-quality juice, the same cannot be said of the cold-hardy grapes that are expanding throughout vine- yards in New England and the upper Midwest. That is starting to change, however, as research associated with the Northern Grapes Project begins to provide insight into cold-hardy cultivars — those based on Vitis riparia. Funded in 2011 by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the Northern Grapes Project is designed to encourage the wine industry in colder climates. The fi ve-year project is wrapping up later this year. Two of the groups conducting studies on cold-hardy cultivars through the Northern Grapes Project are those of Patricia McManus, professor and chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Plant Pathology, who is investigating fungicide phytotoxicity; and Carl Rosen, department head and professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water and Climate, who is considering the effect of nutrients on vine health and ultimately on the wine. Fighting fungus "There are a few fungicides that could have a use in grape production, but people are sometimes afraid to use them because of phytotoxic effects," McManus said. Demystifying cold-hardy grapes Grapes ONLINE For full details on the study, visit bit.ly/1UEZ0dZ PHOTO BY MARJORIE BONSE/UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Carl Rosen, department head and professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water and Climate, presents research results from the Northern Grapes Project at a fi eld day. He is studying the effect of nutrients on vine health and ultimately on the wine. Patricia McManus, professor and chair of the University of Wisconsin- Madison Department of Plant Pathology, is investigating fungicide phytotoxicity in cold-hardy grapes. PHOTO BY MURRAY CLAYTON