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WSU Seminar Covers the Science of Wildfire Smoke and Wine Grapes
April 22, 2026 | Good Fruit Grower
USDA-ARS Research Chemist Arran Rumbaugh, who leads the agency’s smoke exposure research program, keynoted the annual Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology (WAVE) event. She reported that the network of federal and land-grant university scientists working on smoke impacts have made significant strides in the last five years. They’ve identified a complex array of chemical compounds in wildfire smoke that taint wine—not just the one previously known culprit, guaiacol. And they’ve advanced knowledge around baseline data to help define “normal” grape thresholds, and developed rapid detection, atmospheric modeling and prevention/mitigation methods.
‘Widespread Devastation’: Frost Damages Grape Buds across Multiple Eastern States
April 21, 2026 | The Wine Classroom
Warm temperatures that brought summer-like temperatures mid-April hastened budbreak. Then on April 20 temps plummeted into the mid-20s in some locations, causing widespread damage to vines from New York to Virginia. A winemaker in the bullseye of the freeze in southern Pennsylvania estimates his vineyard lost about 70% of the primary buds that had emerged.
Development of Multimodal Lures for Early Detection of Spotted Lanternflies
April 21, 2026 | CDFA PD/GWSS Board
Lures for spotted lanternfly have so far eluded researchers. But among the many excellent projects funded by the CDFA Pierce’s Disease/Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board outlined in its 2025 Research Projects at a Glance report, on page 16, find an overview of hopeful research on the signals SLF produce during routine behaviors and how they can be used as lures to detect, trap and manage the pest. For example, researchers are developing a prototype device to mimic the vibrations of honeydew ejection.
After an Extreme Drought, Vineyard Recovery Is a Long Haul
April 13, 2026 | Viticulture & Enology Extension News – Spring 2026
Research at WSU’s Irrigated Ag Research & Extension Center (IAREC) shows that, contrary to common practice, fruit removal is not an effective drought mitigation strategy. Even though complete fruit removal can restore yield, it does not prevent the longterm structural and physiological damage caused by drought. Plus, the economic costs of fruit removal outweigh the benefits. Avoiding crop thinning during drought can save growers more than $17 million per year without compromising vine recovery.
The Middle East Crisis Is Not Just Testing Produce, It’s Testing Quality Control Too
April 10, 2026 | Fresh Plaza
War-related rerouting and prolonged transit are challenging global fruit shipments. A quality control services CEO cites Indian grape exports to Europe, some with as many as 200 containers on cargo ships, as a stark example. “Some shipments that were meant for 36–40 days at sea ended up at 70–75 days. Grapes are not meant to be on water for 75 days,” he said. Cold chain failure and internal fruit defects are more likely to crop up on long journeys. “Affected shipments have shown severe quality deterioration, leading to a tremendous reduction in value for exporters.”
Genetic Markers Fast-Track Breeding of Seedless Muscadine Grapes
April 8, 2026 | Phys.org
Using new markers for important genetic traits developed in the NGRA-supported VitisGen3 and Vitis x Muscadinia projects, grape breeders can now cross the two species, knowing with nearly 100% confidence whether the offspring will be seedless and self-pollinating. The approach promises to enable future grape selections marrying the disease resistance, distinctive flavors and southern climate adaptability of muscadines with the fruit quality, seedlessness and consumer appeal of vinifera varieties.
AI-Powered Grape Ripeness Detector Aims to Revolutionize Wine Industry
April 7, 2026 | Talker.news
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a portable optical sensor that uses machine learning to instantly assess the ripeness of grape berries, right on the vine. They say the device removes the need for manual sampling and destructive testing to determine whether grapes are ready to harvest.
Observations of Adult Spotted Lanternfly Behavior on Ailanthus altissima
April 5, 2026 | Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Research led by USDA-ARS followed spotted lanternflies on Trees of Heaven from late August to mid-November in 2020, 2021 and 2023. They observed the quantity and sex of adult SLF and their behavior (feeding, resting, walking up or down, courtship and mating) to determine if there would be an optimal time to apply olfactory or vibroacoustic stimuli for monitoring or bio-surveillance. They found that male-female sex ratio approaches 1 in late September, when reproductive behaviors occur—a promising time to apply these techniques.
Love Aged Pinot Noir? How About 600 Years Old?
April 2, 2026 | Wine Spectator
A group of French researchers recently analyzed the DNA of 49 archeological grape seeds (pips) dating from the Bronze Age to the Medieval Period in what is now France. They discovered that humans have been domesticating grapes for wine in the south of France since 650 BCE. Until now, experts believed people were simply harvesting indigenous grapes, but the new study shows that around 500 BCE, ancient winemakers began intentionally propagating vines. It’s “the earliest direct evidence of vegetative material and viticultural knowledge exchanged between coastal trade hubs and rural inland sites.”
Grapevine Adventitious Root Traits Vary Based on Propagation Method
April 2, 2026 | OENO One
New research from UC Davis identified the genetic basis in grape rootstocks for root architecture traits that affect rooting depth and access to water. But there was a catch: the trait values depend on how the plant material was propagated. It was easier to recover known trait differences between the parent rootstocks on plants propagated vegetatively than hardwood cuttings, which is important information for future research.
Infographic: Who Really Pays for Tariffs? These Scholars Tracked a Bottle of Wine To Find Out.
April 2, 2026 | Reason
A study led by Duke University tracked a bottle of imported wine through the supply chain to show how tariffs impact producers, importers, distributors and finally consumers, who pay 134% of the increase. Tariffs negatively impact almost everyone in the transaction, reports Reason magazine. “Producers lose out by lowering export prices, and consumers are harmed by higher retail prices. Only the government, which now gets to collect more taxes, comes out ahead.
A Comprehensive Analysis of Shared Challenges and Needs across U.S. Grape and Wine Regions
April 2026 | AJEV
A team of specialists from land grant universities across the U.S. assessed winegrape industry challenges and research needs in three areas: viticulture, enology and wine business and marketing. Across their online survey and regional focus group meetings in 2024, the team identified common themes in viticulture, enology and wine business and marketing. Top challenges were: In viticulture, pest and disease management; in enology, acidity and microbial spoilage management; and in wine business and marketing, evolving consumer preferences.
Irrigation Timing Affects Grape Berry Cell Death and Late-Season Dehydration
April 2026 | AJEV
Late-season dehydration, where the berries begin shriveling near harvest, can cause significant yield losses, especially in hot, dry conditions. Research from UC Davis found that short irrigation pulses, precisely timed to coincide with the developmental events hypothesized to cause shriveling, may delay or slow down this process. Specifically, a two-week pulse of ~40% additional irrigation, timed right at the onset of cell death in the berries (~90 days after anthesis) reduced the rate of cell death and the severity of berry shriveling at harvest in Northern California’s hot 2022 growing season.
Brown: Nourishing Innovations
March 30, 2026 | Good Fruit Grower
It started as a simple concept: What if you could walk up to a grapevine, scan it with a handheld sensor and assess its nutrient status in real time? That brainstorming idea became the NGRA-initiated HiRes Vineyard Nutrition project. Despite starting during the pandemic, the research yielded significant outcomes—including the ability to sense vine nutrition in real time. The project’s findings will be delivered at the ASEV-NGRA Vineyard Nutrition Symposium on June 16.
Trained Dogs Are Hunting the Spotted Lanternfly
March 30, 2026 | Offrange
Research funded in 2019-2020 by USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine program proved that dogs could be trained to find spotted lanternflies or their egg masses. Now, the National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, GA, has four trained spotted lanternfly detector dogs; they’re required to have a success rate of 85% or more. Other groups, such as the Indiana and Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech also have SLF detector dog programs. The hurdles to deploying the dogs are often cost and bureaucratic concerns.
Pulling Nitrogen From the Air
March 27, 2026 | Offrange
The process of converting nitrogen to a form (nitrate) plants can use is energy-intensive, responsible for up to 2% of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Around the U.S., scientists and startups are experimenting with a new high-tech solution called plasma activated water (PAW), which uses electricity to pull nitrogen from the air, mix it with water and create fertilizer on demand, right on the farm. It may seem too good to be true, but early adopters say it genuinely works.
How Technology Is Transforming No- and Low-Alcohol Wine
March 26, 2026 | SevenFifty Daily
Several new areas of research are helping winemakers make no- and low-alcohol wine that even connoisseurs will drink. These innovations include using non-traditional yeasts that metabolize sugars differently, reducing alcohol by 0.5 to 1.5% ABV without compromising quality; arresting fermentation through sharp cooldowns; and employing vacuum distillation techniques and nano-membrane filtration that decouple ethanol from aroma and flavor compounds.
Moderate Wine Drinkers May Live Longer, According to New Study
March 26, 2026 | Wine Enthusiast
In a long-term study of 340,000 British adults by UK Biobank, those who consume high amounts of alcohol were found to be 36% more likely to die from cancer, 24% more likely to die from any health reason and 14% more likely to die from heart disease. But researchers found that what (vs. how much) you drink might impact health more. For example, moderate wine drinkers had a 21% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to the never or occasional drinkers.
At a Virginia Vineyard, Volunteers Are Fighting To Eliminate This Invasive Pest
March 25, 2026 | The Washington Post
The third annual Scrape for the Grape campaign is expected to draw about 1,000 volunteers to Virginia vineyards in March and April to “smash and kill as many spotted lanternfly egg masses as possible before they hatch later this spring, wreaking havoc on trees and other plant life while fluttering across neighborhood streets, sidewalk cafes and playgrounds.” Said one volunteer of the pests, “I’m a nature lover and they’re pretty, but I want to kill them.”
Enterprise Budgets for Diversified Farms
March 24, 2026 | SARE Outreach
To help farmers gain a clearer, more holistic picture of production costs and returns, the newest bulletin from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension (SARE) provides guidance on using enterprise budgets, recordkeeping systems and partial budget analysis to evaluate management decisions for diversified farm operations. A case study in strawberry shows how to amortize the establishment costs and yearly yields of a perennial crop to reliably estimate annual returns.
Hyperspectral Differentiation of Three Grapevine Yellows Diseases and Symptomatically Similar Stresses
March 18, 2026 | Frontiers in Plant Science
Researchers in Germany, led by the Julius Kühn-Institute, developed a mobile platform to use hyperspectral imaging to detect and discriminate between the grapevine yellows diseases Flavescence dorée, Bois noir and Palatinate grapevine yellows. Their classification models successfully distinguished between symptom-similar GY diseases more than 95% of the time for red varieties and between 54% to 97% for whites, showing promise for improving disease management and reducing symptom misclassification.
Hidden Drivers of Vineyard Nutrition
March 2026 | HiRes Vineyard Nutrition Podcast
Tune in to this HiRes Vineyard Nutrition podcast episode to hear Thibaut Verdenal of Switzerland’s Agroscope Research Station discuss what Swiss winegrape growers are prioritizing in vine nutrition in their steep-slope vineyards. “Right now, we are working a lot on cover crops, and the producers are quite aware now of the danger of competition of the cover crop and nitrogen deficiency,” he says. YAN analysis also is emerging as a critical parameter. “For a long time, it was not in the routine analysis, but I’m convinced this is one of the best ways to monitor the nitrogen nutrition into the plant and also make a link with the vinification.”
New Study Reveals How Certified Crop Advisors Want to Work with AI
Feb. 25, 2026 | Phys.org
Noting that certified crop advisors are “trusted knowledge brokers (who) occupy a pivotal position in bridging advanced digital tools and the practical realities of farming,” researchers at Virginia Tech and the University of Vermont explored what might be holding CCAs back from adopting AI–enabled decision support systems (AIDSS). The study’s PI says, the simplicity and “technical performance of AI tools matters, but cost and data ownership (and privacy) are pivotal to selection.” He adds that human-in-the-loop designs are critical as “crop advisors prefer systems that augment rather than replace professional judgment.”
Find these stories and more, published every weekday, on our Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. NGRA will cease our daily posts on X (Twitter) starting in April.
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