Essential Workers and Table Grapes 

Mr. Jim Peterson, left, (Santa Ana Pueblo Vineyard Manager) and Dr. Kevin Lombard, right, (Farmington ASC Superintendent) unloading trellis components at Farmington ASC on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Mr. Jim Peterson and Santa Ana Pueblo provided the heavy truck and gooseneck trailer to deliver the components from Farmington ASC to Los Lunas ASC on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Newly installed line post with Y-configuration and arms in place at Farmington ASC vineyard. Thanks to Dr. Lombard, ASC staff and interns from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, CO and Navaho Technical University in Crownpoint, NM.

Essential  absolutely necessary, indispensable 

Work is what the body is obliged to do and play is what the body is not obliged to do. Mark Twain

Essential Worker individual doing indispensable things which her or his body is not obliged to do. 

    What is it that you are not obliged to do? How much should you be paid to do that? How much would you pay to have that done? Should young children in New Mexico have table grapes to eat? Annual per capita consumption of table grapes in the United States is about 8 lbs.  Should children know how to raise their own table grapes? What is the difference between table grapes and grapes used for juice, raisins or wine? What cultivars of table grapes will thrive in New Mexico with reasonable care? Will being able to raise some portion of the family's food supply make a family, community, state and nation less vulnerable to "supply issues"? Will raising their own table grapes encourage kids to eat more table grapes and, more fruit and vegetables in general? Will raising grapes and other fruit and vegetables encourage more physical activity?

Not sure we can answer all of these questions, but Dr. Kevin Lombard (Farmington ASC Superintendent), Dr. Shengrui Yao (Alcalde SC), Mr. Jim Peterson (vineyard manager for Santa Ana Pueblo) some of the ASCs' and SCs' staff and several interns from Ft. Lewis College, Durango, CO and Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM are essential to establishing experimental table grape vineyards at Los Lunas ASC, Farmington ASC, Alcalde SC and Santa Ana Vineyard. With these vineyards funded by NMDA and its Specialty Crops grants, we will begin to explore the suitability of 8 table grape varieties and a trellis/training system for New Mexico growing conditions. 

How many grapes are in your glass?

 

Check out this article in link below by Cornell Extension Enologist, Mr. Chris Gerling. He breaks down some numbers you have always wondered about and may have calculated on your own from time to time. They make for great happy hour conversation. Heres to grapes, wine and a day to remember. 

https://grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/newsletters/appellation-cornell/2011-newsletters/issue-8/conversion-factors-vineyard-bottle/

Structure and Function...tendril or cluster...as sophisticated as a buttercup, BTW it is time to collect petiole samples for analysis

This is a photo of a tendril, or is it a cluster...the tissue that forms the cluster can also form a tendril.

 

BTW, it is time to collect and submit your petiole samples...please to refer to protocol below and contact me to get then analyzed. 

Grapevine Petiole Sampling Standard Method  
Gill Giese, NMSU Extension Viticulture Specialist

Figure 1. Grape shoot with leaf location to obtain the petiole sample

Figure 1. Left: grape shoot with the 6^th leaf from the shoot tip circled in red. In the drawing on the right the petiole is still attached to the leaf blade. 

Figure 2. Grape leaf blade with petiole that is kept, processed and submitted.

1.      The petiole, or leaf stem, is submitted to the lab for analysis. Petioles are ideal to handle and store. They do not breakdown/mold as readily as do leaf blades. Petioles are convenient to dry and ship.  

2.      At collection, break off the petiole where it attaches to the stem/shoot. Immediately separate the petiole from the leaf blade to prevent translocation of sap from petiole into leaf blade. Discard leaf blade.

3.      Timing and location: select and collect petioles attached to the leaf opposite a fruit cluster at full bloom. Grapevines are judged to be in “full bloom” when about 60-75% of flower caps are shed. Use the most recent, fully mature leaf. Recently mature leaves are typically located at the fifth to seventh node counting from the shoot tip (refer to Figure 1 above).   

4.      Collect petiole samples at the same time year to year and at the same time of day (morning preferred).

5.      There is no one “best” time to collect petiole samples, as there is no single time that is diagnostic for all possible nutrient disorders and deficiencies. However, nitrate peaks in most grape varieties at bloom and nitrogen is the nutrient most often deficient and most frequently applied. Also, testing for nitrogen in the soil yields less than robust results due the fact that nitrogen is very mobile within and readily leaches from the soil. Consequently, testing for soil nitrogen will indicate different amounts of N at different times of year. 

a.       Potassium levels decline from bloom to veraison, when grape berries begin to soften, develop sweetness and change color.

b.      Boron, if low at bloom, can recover as temperatures warm late in the season.  

c.       In some regions, i.e. France, California and Oregon, the most recently fully developed leaf is sometimes collected in August and used for analysis.    

6.      If possible, avoid sampling vines on border rows or adjacent to dusty roads.

7.      Gently wash freshly collected petioles with mild detergent water bath (Dreft baby detergent is often used or a detergent that does not contain phosphorous). Transfer petioles to a water rinse and then finish with a final rinse using distilled water. Rinsing is intended to remove dust and/or chemical spray residue. Finally, transfer the washed and rinsed petioles to paper towels to dry. After the petioles are completely dry…place the dried petioles in a paper bag, allow to dry in the open bag for a few days prior to shipment to the lab. 

8.      Collect separate samples by cultivar and block.

9.      Collect 1-2 petioles per vine. The total sample should contain 30 -100 petioles...depending on the size...some petioles are quite large and 30 will be sufficient. But the lab techs cannot complete the analysis if there is not enough biomass. 

10.   Alternately, collect 5-10 petioles from 10-20 representative vines and flag these for 
 small fertilizer trials or repeat samples.  

11.   If you apply nutrients or want to track what is going on in the vineyard over the season, 
 a 2^nd petiole sample can be collected at 70-100 days post-bloom, at veraison (see description of veraison above). 

 

Table 1. Target values for soil, bloom petiole and late summer petiole samplings. THE TARGET VALUES IN THE TABLE ARE GENERATED FROM GRAPE REGIONS OUTSIDE OF NEW MEXICO AND ARE PROVIDED AS ESTIMATES ONLY! 

Nutrient	Soil		Bloom petiole		Late-summer petiole
Nitrogen	—z	—	1.2 - 2.2	%	0.8 - 1.2	%
Phosphorus	20 - 50	ppm	0.17 - 0.30	%	0.14 - 0.30	%
Potassium	75-100	ppm	1.5 - 2.5	%	1.2 - 2.0	%
Calcium	*500 - 2000	ppm	1.0 - 3.0	%	1.0 - 2.0	%
Magnesium	100 - 250	ppm	0.3 - 0.5	%	0.35 - 0.75	%
Boron	0.3 - 2.0	ppm	25 - 50	ppm	25 - 50	ppm
Iron	20	ppm	30 - 100	ppm	30 - 100	ppm
Manganese	20	ppm	25 - 1000	ppm	100 - 1500	ppm
Copper	0.5	ppm	5-15	ppm	5 - 15	ppm
Zinc	2	ppm	30-60	ppm	30 - 60	ppm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

1.      Kamas, J. 2014. Growing Grapes in Texas, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.

2.      Wolf, T.K. editor. 2008. Wine Grape Production Guide for Eastern North America. NRAES, Cooperative Extension Ithaca, NY. 

Labs:

1.      Waypoint Analytical: http://waypointanalytical.com/PlantTissues

2.      Fruit Growers Lab: http://www.fglinc.com

3.      A&L Labs Lubbock, TX: http://al-labs-plains.com/