Vine Status

Sooty mold on a Chardonnay leaf due to honeydew produced by the spotted lanternfly. The sugar content in honeydew can promote the growth of certain fungi that might not otherwise appear.

Things have slowed down a bit, but this week’s heat may promote maturation. Hopefully, we won’t get much rain…

Grape Disease Risks: 8/26 – 9/2/2026

NEWA is an Agricultural Weather Station Network, and we are part of the team. Here is a snapshot from last week showing the number of days with risk for each disease: Ph = Phomopsis, PW = Powdery mildew, BR = Black rot, and DM = Downy mildew. N/A means there is no data or issues with the NEWA. I am waiting to hear back from the weather station company about fixing the one in Stafford. Note: Since we are out of the critical period for black rot and Phomopsis, you can ignore them.

It looks like vineyards on the eastern side of the state experienced more days with downy mildew infection risk this week. As we discussed in the previous virtual vineyard meetings, we still need to maintain our vines to ensure healthy canopies that support bud formation for next year, cane or spur selection, and winter survival. 

For detailed recommendations, please refer to the previous week’s posting.

Downy mildew forecast

Please click the table above to enlarge. Downy mildew risk is high in many places in the coming week. I hope you can find a time to protect your vines before these events.

The downy mildew forecasting effort is supported by the Virginia Wine Board.