Title: Grape Production Series No 1 - Diseases and Pests
Editors: Phil Nicholas, Peter Magarey, Malcolm Wachtel
Publisher: Winetitles; Australia

This publication should be on every grapegrower’s coffee table or in every field vehicle. The manual is also useful for students of viticulture, plant pathology, and those associated with the grape industry.

With the rapid expansion of grapes in this part of the world, disease and pest problems have arisen, but very few publications have been produced to assist with these problems for our conditions. The Australian authors have taken the initiative to produce a manual to address these problems. Close collaboration between New Zealand and Australian scientists has enabled contributions from scientists in both countries to be included in this manual.

This useful manual has been divided into five sections which are colour coded for easy access. The sections include diseases, pests, disorders and injuries, vineyard sprayers, and choosing the best fungicide or insecticide. Each section provides useful references for further reading as well.

The most commonly occurring diseases and pests in New Zealand and Australia are detailed in an easy-to read way, and are also well illustrated. Each disease is described with symptoms on leaves and bunches at various stages of growth, details of the life cycle of the disease-causing organism, and also a separate section on control with well-illustrated colour pictures. The control section also provides a well-defined growth scale, a colour gradient on high risk periods, any necessary action needed, timing of application, fungicide treatment options, techniques, viticultural factors, and vineyard sanitation.

The section on agrochemical sprays also provides interesting and informative reading with new developments in machinery and calibration procedures.

The section on choosing the best fungicide or insecticide (which is one of the most important criteria for obtaining good control), outlines the factors to be considered, and provides a checklist to use when selecting agrochemicals. A table of recommended chemicals for the New Zealand and Australian industry is also provided. This table will change as new chemicals become registered and existing ones are removed from the registration list. It would have been useful to have a section on chemicals approved for use when making wines for specific importing countries.

This manual will a very useful practical guide for identifying vine disorders, suitable control measures, and managing problems. It will be of benefit to all those involved in grapegrowing, both in table and wine grapes.

Review first published in Winepress. Vol 36 :6. 1995.

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, contact:
Dr Rengasamy Balasubramaniam
HortResearch
Marlborough Research Centre
Private Bag 1007
Blenheim
Telephone : 03-578 9059.

Copyright © 1996 The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd is prohibited.