Viticulture

By: Maria Smith, HCS-OSU   

The growing season soldiers on and so do tasks in the vineyard. With high heat and precipitation over the past month, the vines have continued their rapid growth. We’re at the point now where hedging and skirting are necessary (Figure 1). Nearing in at > 8 ft. of growth, the shoots are folding over and shading the canopy. In southern Ohio and some of our early ripening cultivars, veraison is here already and netting should be going on for bird protection.

By: Maria Smith, HCS-OSU

2026 has been a long year, and yet it is only May. All of our fortitude is being tested, whether that is in the form of waiting out the winter polar vortex in January for the hope of primary or secondary buds to emerge this spring, or now, waiting out for any secondary buds to emerge following the past two weeks of sub-freezing temperatures with the growing season underway.   

By: Maria Smith, HCS-OSU

Cold is an obvious feature of our Ohio winters, but believe it or not, this month’s sustained cold is an anomaly not seen for nearly the past century. 

By: Amaya Atucha, Professor, University of Wisconsin Madison

As we enter the winter season, many growers are once again thinking about the risk of cold injury to grapevines. With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, including warm spells followed by abrupt cold snaps, it often feels like we are always on alert for potential damage. During the dormant season, freeze injury to buds remains the number one concern, as even the hardiest cultivars can be vulnerable when temperatures fall below their level of cold hardiness.

Erdal Ozkan. Professor and Extension State Specialist
The Ohio State University, FABE

Time to give your sprayer some TLC by properly winterizing it.