FRAME Networks

Project Summary

In the U.S. grape industries, quality and economically-viable yields are the drivers of regionally-relevant and nationally-successful farming enterprises. A key factor to this quality and quantity is successful disease management.

Many factors influence this success, but nothing can upset the system like fungicide resistance. This upset has been growing in the US grape industry, as the nationally-relevant diseases of powdery mildew, downy mildew, and Botrytis bunch rot have seen field-level control failures due to pathogen resistance to several key fungicide groups.

To prevent crop loss, grape growers not only need tools for understanding and forecasting disease pressure in their vineyards, but also tools that can help them identify potential fungicide resistance challenges on a timescale that allows for actionable changes. But access to data is not the same as data usability; concerted educational efforts targeting all sectors of the industry – from vineyard laborers to product manufacturers – are needed so that everyone understand how data can be used, and how to translate that information into a plan that improves disease management.

Through the research and extension efforts of the FRAME team, we are: DEVELOPING better pathogen sampling approaches and rapid early detection tools; ADAPTING models from the vineyard to satellite-scale to improve predictions of disease risk and optimize  sampling and scouting practices; and EMPOWERING stakeholders along the production continuum – from field scouts, producers and managers, to consultants and Extension professionals – with access to durable educational programming to build their knowledge in disease management and fungicide resistance mitigation.