SOLUTIONS to fruit-set issues faced by winegrape growers in north-eastern Victoria, King Valley, Orange, NSW, and Canberra regions will be the focus of a seminar being conducted by NSW Department of Primary Industries next month.
The department said early bunch stem necrosis (EBSN) had been identified as a major cause of yield losses in Tumbarumba, prompting the DPI and the Tumbarumba Vignerons Association to tackle the issue.
NSW DPI horticulturist, Leo Quirk, said the impact of EBSN on berry size and numbers during the past five years cost the Tumbarumba region of NSW more than $250,000 per season.
"We have identified three possible causes to EBSN in the region – low temperatures during flowering, soil mineral imbalances which may cause vines to grow vegetatively at flowering time and the presence of a pathogen which causes bunches to shrivel and die," Mr Quirk said.
He said at the seminar, HortResearch New Zealand’s Dr Andrea Pickering would provide growers with an update of curren knowledge of the physiological disorders which cause EBSN.
"And results from trials run in the Adelaide Hills investigating the application of CCC (2-chloro ethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) to improve fruit-set will be the focus of University of Adelaide’s Dr Cassandra Collins’ presentation," Mr Quirk said.
Mr Quirk said Wagga Wagga National Wine and Grape Industry Centre’s research into EBSN would feature with talks from NSW DPI’s Bruno Holzapfel and Melanie Weckert.
