Stella Maris on Wine Grapes Spring, 2018
Traditional Stella Maris wine programs have focused on improving cluster architecture, berry set, and yield.
Wine Grape Benefits
More recent, research has focused on grape & wine quality, with enhanced yield.
Anthocyanins (mg/cm2) Phenolics (mg/cm2) 0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Skin Anthocyanins 7% 26% 9% Grape Quality 1.2 1 0.8 Skin Phenolics 29% 3% 2% 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Pinot noir, Mi Cab franc, Mi Pinot noir, Italy Pinot noir, Mi Cab franc, Mi Pinot noir, Italy Control Treated At harvest, anthocyanins and phenolics were higher in Treated compared to control grapes. This was true for both cool climate (Michigan) and warm climates (Italy). Control Treated
Let s make some wine Grower Standard vs. Full Acadian Program Pinot noir 115 on S04 & 101-14 Planted in 2007 Soledad, CA
Wine Quality Analysis- Pinot noir May 2013 Harvested 2012 Wine made from grapes treated with Acadian seaweed extracts had a lower hue value (more red, less brown color), a greater intensity, as well as increased levels of anthocyanins, tannins, and phenolic compounds just after bottling.
Wine Quality Analysis- Pinot noir January 2015 Harvested 2012 Wine made from grapes treated with Acadian seaweed extracts maintained lower hue value (more red, less brown color), a greater intensity, as well as increased levels of anthocyanins, tannins, and phenolic compounds after time in storage.
Acadian Wine Grape Program Application Rates Timings 2-4 inch shoot growth foliar & soil Growth uniformity, rachis length, root growth, nutrient uptake 10-12 inch shoot growth Foliar & soil 5 days pre bloom Foliar BB size berries (2-3 mm) Foliar Veraison Foliar Postharvest Soil Rachis length, bloom uniformity, root growth Berry set, plant health, reduced shatter, stress mitigation Size & color uniformity, plant health Plant health, uniformity, stress mitigation Root flush, nutrient uptake, carbohydrate accumulation, bud initiation
Apples Jeff Alicandro agr. Assistance 1402
Postharvest (late season) apples alone and in combination with after-harvest nutrition Agrassistance 1611
Trial Block Details LaMora Farms Rte 350 Farm Block 11 Ontario, NY variety: Empire rootstock: M26 trees/acre: 250 age: 15+ years(full bearing) dilute TRV: 250 gpa soil ph : 6.6
Treatments 1. Grower standard Control 2. Stimplex postharvest program- 2 qt/acre 10/14 (immediately after harvest) and 10/28 (2 weeks later) 3. Foliar zinc and boron- 3 pints ZincMaX(10.2% Zn)/acre and BoronMaX(8.1% B)/acre applied postharvest on 10/14/16 & 10/28/16 4. Treatment 2 & 3 combined
Trial Applications All trial applications applied at 2.0 mph at 100 gpa with a commercial PTO airblast sprayer spray water ph = 7.6 2016 post-harvest trial applications: 10/14/16 and again 10/28/16 (NOTE: 2016 commercial Empire harvest in this trial block was on 10/11/16)
7 Empire trees per treatment were hand-selected for the 2017 evaluations based on uniformity of tree size, tree vigor and having a full 2016 crop load. (leaf nutrient samples were composite/treatment, not per tree) 2016 yields in this block were VERY good(about 1,400 bushels/acre)- but fruit size was small(largely 2.5" diameter) due to the very severe 2016 drought. Empire tends to be a very annual-blooming apple variety. However the heavy crop load and severe drought stress in 2016 did reduce return bloom somewhat in 2017. Trial harvested 10/14/2017 A comprehensive fungicide and insecticide spray program was uniformly applied across all treatments in 2017. No soil-applied or foliar-applied fertilizers were applied to any of the treatments in 2017. All Empire tree treatments in this trial block were uniformly chemically thinned in 2017 with 2 pints carbaryl 4L plus 80 fl oz MaxCel per acre. No follow-up hand thinning was performed on these trial Empire trees in 2017. ReTain PGR was applied across the board to all treatments at 0.37 lbs/acre on 9/21/17 for harvest management.
Results phytotoxicity evaluations: No foliar or fruit phytotoxicity was observed from any of the trial treatment applications. 100 fruit evaluated per rep for fruit finish at harvest: relative rating of 1(poor) - 10(excellent); 8-10 = commercially good fruit finish Overall fruit finish was very good in all treatments- no differences in fruit finish were observed between the treatments.
Percent Return Bloom 100.00 98.00 96.00 94.00 92.00 90.00 88.00 86.00 84.00 82.00 80.00 Results Percent Return Bloom b ab ab a UTC Stimplex Zn + B Stimplex + Zn + B (P=.10, Duncan's New MRT) Applications of Stimplex and Zn+B numerically increased return bloom while the combination of treatemtns significantly increased return bloom, compared to the control, the season after the application.
Fruit/tree 440.00 Results Number of Fruit per Tree b ab ab a 420.00 400.00 380.00 360.00 340.00 320.00 300.00 UTC Stimplex Zn + B Stimplex + Zn + B (P=.10, Duncan's New MRT) Although fruit size was similar between treatments, applications of Stimplex, and Zn+B numerically increased fruit number per tree, and the combination significantly increased fruit number compared to the control. The pounds of fruit per tree and calculated yield per acre showed the same response. No differences in fruit quality were detected.
Percent PPM Results 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 Leaf Nutrient Levels N K Ca UTC Stimplex Zn + B Stimplex + Zn + B 40.00 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 Leaf Nutrient Levels B UTC Stimplex Zn + B Stimplex + Zn + B Leaf nutrient levels of N, K, Ca, B, and Zn were all increased with treatments. The combination of treatments had the highest levels. Zn
Conclusions Post harvest applications of Stimplex can increase yield the following year by increasing return bloom and fruit numbers. This increase in fruit number does not result in smaller or lower quality fruit. Stimplex in combination with a postharvest nutrition program had the greatest benefit.