Viticulture

By: Imed Dami and Diane Kinney, Horticulture & Crop Science, The Ohio State University

This article summarizes the 2020 dormant and growing seasons and the impact of weather on grape varieties grown on the research vineyard at the OSU-OARDC in Wooster, Ohio. 

Weather: Temperature

Thanks to the support of the Ohio Grape Industries Committee (OGIC), we are excited to announce the return of Geovine, an online tool from Virginia Tech that assists growers in evaluating vineyard site suitability. A webinar training on how to use the tool will be provided by the Center for Geospatial Information Technology at VT on December 15 from 10am to 11:30am EST. The registration details and link can be found below in addition to the "events" tab of the Buckeye Appellation website.

__

By: Maria Smith, HCS-OSU

Weather:

Precipitation: Much of August has followed July, with warm, dry conditions. It has only been in the past couple of weeks that we have begun seeing a reprieve from this pattern (Fig. 1). Notably, southern Ohio has had several large storms come through, alleviating previous drought conditions (Fig. 2). In contrast, northwestern and portions of central Ohio have continued remaining dry.

By Maria Smith, HCS-OSU

Veraison, or the onset of ripening, marks the home stretch of the growing season (Fig. 1). At this stage, berries change colors, soften, and swell with water and sugars. During ripening, vines are heavily taxed by the fruit’s carbohydrate, water, and nutrient demands. In the case that one or more of these 3 vine resources are limited, both fruit maturity and vine vegetation can visibly suffer.