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Weather Network provides Information critical to grape growers success

If you live in the Lake Erie region there is one subject that always seems to be a topic of conversation, the weather. While most are concerned primarily with how the weather will affect their choice of clothing, the need to carry an umbrella, or get up early to shovel snow before work, grape growers in the region are at the mercy of Mother Nature in their attempts to harvest an abundant, high quality crop of grapes. Grape growers are required to make decisions on a daily basis as they battle against too much rain, too little rain, and high and low temperatures that impact the growth of vines and ripening of the crop.

While the public can get the weather info they need by tuning into their favorite TV station or using their computer or smartphone to access a weather app or website, growers need information, not only on weather conditions, but how the weather is impacting vine growth and pest development. To meet this need the Network for Environment and Weather Applications, http://newa.cornell.edu, was created by members of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, a part of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Since its inception in 1991, NEWA has been continuously updated with the latest research-based knowledge to become an online decisions aid system that provides growers with results from IPM risk assessment models based on observed local weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and wind speed, as well as forecast data. Grape growers have access to IPM models to help them determine the need for, and timing of, management strategies against the diseases powdery mildew, downy mildew, black rot and Phomopsis as well as for the primary insect pest of grapes, grape berry moth.

To provide local weather information, weather stations are located in grower vineyards across the Lake Erie region from near the Pennsylvania/Ohio state line up to the shores of Lake Ontario in Niagara County. To help ensure weather information was available for all grape acreage in the region, the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program teamed up with National Grape Cooperative, Constellation Brands, Walker’s Fruit Basket and the New York Wine & Grape Foundation to purchase and install an additional six weather instruments in the region. This brings the total number of instruments in the region to twenty-one, providing coverage from the Lake Erie shoreline to vineyards on the escarpment and all those in between.

It has become evident that there is no such thing as a normal weather year, so NEWA helps growers to compare how one year stacks up to others by providing access to weather information, both hourly and daily summaries, from the time the machine was installed. Growers can also go back and see how different weather patterns affected pest pressure in years past to help them in managing pests in the current year. A recent survey of NEWA users found that they reduced pesticide applications and saved an average of $4,329 dollars helping them toward both environmental and economic sustainability.

The Network for Environment and Weather Applications is provided at no cost by the NYS IPM Program and available for use by anyone, not just grape growers. NEWA provides information that is valuable to a number of other commodities including apples, cabbage, grapes, onion, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn and turf grass. The weather and pest information it provides can be used by homeowners, extension staff and Master Gardeners, as well as commercial growers. To access this information log onto http://newa.cornell.edu and find the station closest to you.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch’s), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call 716-792-2800 or visit our website at http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

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