May 2023

A flash-frozen Malbec shoot at Vermilion Valley Vineyards in Wakeman, OH*

In early May, the USDA launched its Science and Research Strategy, 2023-2026: Cultivating Scientific Innovation. The three-year plan presents a near-term vision for transforming U.S. agriculture through science and innovation, and outlines how the USDA can “strengthen research, development and deployment partnerships to ensure our nation’s food system is more sustainable, resilient and profitable for the many and the most, instead of just the few.”

Central to the Science and Research Strategy (S&RS) are USDA’s five science priorities:



• Accelerating innovative technologies and practices
• Driving climate-smart solutions
• Bolstering nutrition security and health
• Cultivating resilient ecosystems
• Translating research into action

The S&RS aligns with the USDA’s Strategic Plan for FY 2022-2026. View the fact sheet for more information about the priorities and how stakeholders can help advance the strategy.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this month released a final rule that exempts plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs) created using genetic engineering from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, and from the food or feed residue tolerance requirements under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The rule ensures that public health and the environment are protected while reducing costs for the regulated community, consistent with Executive Order 14081 on advancing biotechnology. The rule, EPA adds, may also increase R&D for and commercialization of new pest control options (particularly in "minor crops" such as grapes), and reduce the use of conventional pesticides.

In its announcement, the EPA explains: “All plants naturally contain mechanisms to help them withstand pathogens and other pests. In its regulations, EPA uses the term ‘PIP’ to describe these pesticidal traits. The majority of PIPs registered under FIFRA (are) genetically engineered with beneficial traits derived from other organisms. PIPs are one of the safest methods to control pests because of their narrow activity spectrum, and their use can greatly reduce the need for conventional pesticides. Advances in science and technology now enable the modification of plants’ genomes such that PIPs created using genetic engineering can be indistinguishable from those found in conventionally bred plants.”

This month, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced $140 million in funding to launch seven new national AI Research Institutes. This investment will bring the total number of Institutes to 25 across the country, and extend the network of organizations involved into nearly every state. The Institutes catalyze collaborative efforts across institutions of higher education, federal agencies, industry and others to pursue transformative AI advances that are ethical, trustworthy, responsible and serve the public good. In addition to promoting responsible innovation, these Institutes bolster America’s AI R&D infrastructure and support the development of a diverse AI workforce. Among other critical areas, the new institutes will advance AI R&D to drive breakthroughs in climate-smart agriculture.

The AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy (AI-CLIMATE) led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, aims to advance foundational AI by incorporating knowledge from agriculture and forestry sciences, and leveraging these unique, new AI methods to curb climate effects, while lifting rural economies and developing AI workforces in these communities. AI-CLIMATE is funded by USDA-NIFA.

This month, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research announced Angela Records as its new Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Records is a plant pathologist with over 20 years of experience using science to develop solutions for global challenges. She joins FFAR from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she co-founded and led the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security’s Research Community of Practice.

As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Records will provide strategic and technical leadership for FFAR’s food and agriculture research programs. She will lead FFAR’s Scientific Programs Team and will oversee the strategic visioning, design, solicitation, review, award, management and evaluation of a portfolio of research activities spanning the breadth of agriculture and food systems research opportunities.

President & CEO of the California Table Grape Commission Kathleen Nave plans to retire in Spring 2025. Ian LeMay, currently President of the California Fresh Fruit Association, will succeed her. He will join the commission staff as incoming president once he finds and successfully transitions his successor.

Kathleen joined the Commission, an NGRA member-organization, in 1987 and has served in the lead staff role since January 1999 when she succeeded Bruce Obbink. She says the Commission has a history of choosing its President & CEO carefully and then allowing time for the incoming leader to transition into the role. In its 55-year history, the Commission has had only three presidents, two of whom served for more than 25 years.

Christine (Chris) Smart, a crop pathologist known for her leadership in protecting the health of specialty crops across New York State, has been appointed the Goichman Family Director of Cornell AgriTech, effective October 1, 2023. Olga Padilla-Zakour will continue to serve as interim director until September 30, then will resume her roles as professor of food science and director of the Cornell Food Venture Center.

Dr. Smart earned her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Michigan State University. She joined the Cornell faculty in 2003 and has more than 20 years’ experience in extension, education and outreach, most recently, as director of the School of Integrative Plant Science, which unifies disciplines to address food security, environmental conservation, biodiversity and human health in a changing climate. 

The Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) has hired Kristina Kelley as its new Executive Director.  The WSWC, an NGRA member-organization, is a commodity commission representing every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington. In her new role, Kristina will lead the WSWC with the main responsibilities of marketing, communications, special events, branding of Washington wine and the state’s wine regions, and viticulture and enology research.

Kristina comes to the WSWC after more than 25 years with E. & J. Gallo Winery, most recently as Senior Director of Public Relations and Corporate Communications. She retired from her full-time position in 2021 to relocate back home to Washington, but was retained as a strategic marketing communications consultant across a luxury portfolio of wine. She has strong ties to the Pacific Northwest, having worked in Washington two different times over the course of her career and owning a vineyard for more than 18 years in Oregon’s Dundee Hills.

The Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) awarded nearly $1 million in research grants for its upcoming fiscal year (July 2023-June 2024). Almost half of the 19 funded projects support vineyard sustainability, including optimizing vineyard nutrition, insect biocontrol and mating disruption, integrated weed management strategies, evaluating rootstocks for nematode management, and controlling grape powdery mildew with UV light and canopy management. Other funded viticulture research includes enhancing irrigation efficiency through soil water sensors, testing the carbon isotope signature of juice from wine grapes grown under water, nutrient and disease stress, and developing novel strategies to manage grapevine leafroll disease. One winery-focused research project aims to mitigate the impacts on wine from wildfire smoke exposure.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s PD/GWSS Board recommended (and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross approved) $2.7 million in new funding for 17 research projects over the next three years. Sixteen projects are new and one is an expansion of a previously approved project. Additionally, 10 previously approved multi-year projects received continued funding for a little more than $1 million for the fiscal year 2023-2024. The grants involve research on:



• Pierce’s disease, including several approaches to developing scion-level resistance—and even immunity—to PD
• Grapevine viruses, including fanleaf, red blotch, leaf roll-associated virus 3
• Vectors, understanding the feeding behavior of glassy-winged sharpshooter and seeking to control the pest via gene modification

Growers spend an average of $500,000 a year on automation in response to persistent ag labor shortages, according to Western Growers’ second annual Specialty Crop Automation Report. The report, which tracks and measures industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry (including table grapes), is based on grower surveys.

Additional findings include:



• Around 70% of participating growers indicated they invested in automation in 2022, with an average annual spend of $450,000 to $500,000 per grower. This finding reflects a 25% increase since last year, when average investments in automation ranged from $350,000 to $400,000 per grower per year.
• Most progress was made in the weeding and harvest-assist segments; market-ready solutions are able to meet grower economic targets and alleviate key challenges, such as lack of labor availability. Growers reported ROIs for weeding solutions of less than one to two years.
• Growers want more trained agtech personnel, with 50% indicating they had internal employees dedicated to the integration of automation investments. This finding suggests that the process of elevating and up-skilling the agriculture workforce is well underway.
• The time it takes to build automation solutions is getting shorter and the costs are getting smaller thanks to advances in robotics and non-agriculture fields that benefit agtech startups, as well as the increasing talent pool available to them.

This full-time position encompasses a variety of direct laboratory- and field-based research activities, as well as administrative support for the viticulture research program at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, WA. Duties will include identifying and defining research problems; designing and implementing field experiments; participating in grant proposal development and post-award grant management; collaborating with graduate students and visiting scientists; training and supervising undergraduate student interns and hourly employees; overseeing budget management and purchasing; and more. Screening of applicants began on May 23, 2023, but the position is open until filled. Learn more and apply.

For more than 50 years, NASA and partner agencies have used satellite imagery to map agriculture worldwide with an eye toward global supply and food security. That technology, however, has largely focused on commodity and row crops. But with the recent launch of a new consortium, called NASA Acres, the focus will shift to U.S. agriculture, including specialty crops—grapes and apples in particular.

The $15 million NASA Acres project builds on the success of NASA Harvest, a globally focused consortium based at the University of Maryland. Alyssa Whitcraft, associate research professor at UMD and co-founder of NASA Harvest, is director of NASA Acres, which stands for “A Climate Resilient Ecosystem Approach to Strengthening U.S. Agriculture.” Cornell’s Katie Gold, assistant professor of grape pathology, and Yu Jiang, assistant professor of horticulture, will play a lead role in the project, using grape (and later, apple) as a model system for the dispersal and distribution of pathogens and pests, including spotted lanternfly, as key threats to crop security.

“NASA Acres selected Katie Gold’s project because she and her lab are vanguards for expanding the value of satellite data for specialty crops and for pest and disease early warning and action,” Alyssa said. “It is our hope that success demonstrated for grapes and apples—which are two of the highest value specialty crops in the nation and merit their own focus—will also provide a model for pest and disease early detection and management in other agricultural systems.”

Katie and Yu will leverage remote sensing, robots and artificial intelligence to help growers detect diseases in specialty crops. “Our goal is to provide growers with accurate, data-driven risk assessments made from remote sensing data so they can more strategically deploy ground resources—such as human scouts and diagnostics—to improve early disease detection,” Katie explained. Plus, she added, the project will allow her and Yu to take detection one step further by building more actionable systems for specialty crop growers.

“Integrating NASA satellite sensing with AI systems will enable strategic deployment and adaptation of ground robots and smart sensing networks, enhancing automation and precision in specialty crop production. This will promote a sustainable, equitable and resilient agri-food supply chain,” said Yu.

Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell AgriTech received a $1.4 million grant as part of the project. Other members of the consortium include the University of Illinois, Arizona State University, Stanford University, North Carolina State University, University of California-Merced and Michigan State University.

The National Grape Research Alliance is a NASA Acres consortium partner. Donnell Brown, NGRA president, believes Cornell’s work in NASA Acres could revolutionize the industry. “Katie Gold and Yu Jiang are two of the most aspiring scientists in digital viticulture research in the U.S. today, and we’re thrilled that they were selected to lead the NASA Acres consortium, using grape as a model system,” she said. “The combination of Katie’s research into impressively accurate maps of pre-symptomatic and/or early-stage grapevine viral disease using aerial hyperspectral sensing and Yu’s efforts to deploy robots, sensors and AI to monitor and predict its spread promise a kind of space-age surveillance system for grape growers seeking to combat disease—not only before it can be seen but before it even arrives. This is a model of sustainability that virtually removes disease from the equation.”

Mike Hibbard is a freelance writer for Cornell AgriTech.

This article is adapted from the original, titled “Bringing NASA Technology 'Down to Earth' for Agriculture,” published May 1, 2023, on the Cornell CALS website. Click to read the full story.

National Needs Fellowship Grants

This USDA-NIFA program supports students pursuing graduate degrees in food, agricultural and natural resource sciences, and/or special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances. Awards are specifically intended for outstanding students completing degrees in USDA mission areas and, in particular, these targeted expertise shortage areas: animal and plant production; forest resources; agricultural educators and communicators; agricultural management and economics; food science and human nutrition; sciences for agricultural biosecurity; and integrative biosciences for sustainable food and agricultural systems. Deadline to apply is June 8.

Research Facilities Act Program

This USDA-NIFA program helps qualifying institutions with the costs related to constructing, purchasing, updating, renovating or modifying buildings to conduct research in the areas of agriculture and food sciences. The proposed agricultural research facility must expand the institution’s capacity for long-term impactful research and must be the result of thorough strategic planning. Awards also may be used to fund the purchase of real estate or durable equipment. Deadline to apply is July 7, 2023.

Sustainable Agricultural Systems

This USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program promotes transformational changes in the U.S. food and agriculture system. Projects should offer a systems approach to significantly improving the supply of affordable, safe, nutritious and accessible agricultural products while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America. Plus, project outcomes should result in societal benefits, including promotion of rural prosperity and quality of life enhancement for all those involved in food and agricultural value chains. Deadline to apply is July 13.

The Colorado River Is Shrinking. See What’s Using All the Water.

May 22, 2023 | The New York Times

Following a new agreement between AZ, CO, CA and the Biden Administration to “keep the Colorado River from going dry,” this report shows that 79% of the water is used for agriculture. Of that, 55% (more than 1 trillion gallons) is used to grow feed for livestock and 7% is for “other crops” (beyond cotton, corn, wheat, barley). Residential use accounts for 12% of the total.

‘Worst We’ve Ever Seen.’ Frost Threatens Finger Lakes Wines, Grape Harvest

May 19, 2023 | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Frost across New York’s Finger Lakes AVA (and much of the Midwest) this month hit vineyards hard. Hans Walter-Peterson, viticulture extension specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension, explains that although spring frost isn’t uncommon, the early development of tender shoots was. Observing the damage, Lakewood Vineyards’ Dave Stamp says, “We got scorched.” He estimates his harvest will be cut in half.

Aravelle: The Extension Story Behind Cornell’s Newest Grape Variety

May 18, 2023 | Extension Out Loud podcast

Tune into this Cornell Cooperative Extension podcast to hear Cornell’s Bruce Reisch and Hans Walter-Peterson discuss the years-long research and extension journey behind Aravelle, Cornell AgriTech’s newest commercial grape variety.

Episode 40: Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft

May 17, 2023 | Croptastic podcast

Why do we perceive healthy plants as green? How do sensors (including everything from our eyes to satellites in space) perceive them when impacted by disease or stress? Tune in to this InnerPlant podcast as Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft of University of Maryland and NASA Acres explains how the mechanics of light reflectance allow NASA’s earth-observation technologies to aid in food security and agriculture, including grapes.

America’s Winemaking Past and Future Is Found in the Finger Lakes

May 17, 2023 | Forbes

New York’s Finger Lakes AVA boasts more than 200 years of grape-growing history, and research from the USDA-ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit has led to commercial experimentation with native, hybrid and vinifera grapes. “We aren’t looking at them as hybrids or natives,” says Peter Becraft of NGRA member-winery Anthony Road Wine Company. “We are looking at them as grapes.”

Heat Will Likely Soar to Record Levels in Next 5 Years, New Analysis Says

May 17, 2023 | The New York Times

The record for the hottest year on Earth was set in 2016. There is a 98% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed that, say forecasters at the World Meteorological Organization. They also predict that the average over the next 5 years will almost certainly be the warmest ever recorded, impacting food security, water and the environment.

How Mycorrhizal Fungi Create More Drought-Resistant Grapevines

May 15, 2023 | SevenFiftyDaily

Mycorrhizal fungi are present in—and have a mutually beneficial relationship with—at least 90% of all land plants. They attach to plants’ roots and live off their carbohydrates. In turn, they help their hosts absorb more nutrients and water, and retain that water, two to three weeks longer than those without. Plus, mycorrhizae roots can descend deeper than grapevines’ own roots, expanding plant rooting systems by as much as 700 times!

Charted: The Spotted Lanternfly Returns

May 13, 2023 | Axios

Over the next few weeks, the eggs of the invasive spotted lanternfly will begin hatching in at least the 14 states where it’s been detected. The invasive pest has no natural predators—other than humans who have been asked to stomp them on sight. Check out this chart to see what SLF looks like across its six life stages, from egg to adult.

Quantifying the Grapevine Xylem Embolism Resistance Spectrum to Identify Varieties and Regions at Risk in a Future Dry Climate

May 12, 2023 | Scientific Reports

This INRAE-led team found wide variations in drought resistance across Vitis vinifera, with varieties grouping in four “clusters of embolism vulnerability.” Chardonnay is among the most vulnerable, while Pinot noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most resistant. They also identified wine regions at greater risk of being vulnerable to drought, including Marlborough, New Zealand. The research underscores that hydraulic traits are key to improving viticulture suitability to hotter, drier conditions.

Elaine Chukan Brown: A Return to Hybrids

May 10, 2023 | Decanter

Citing an unusual example of Baco Noir planted in Sonoma wine country, wine writer Elaine Chukan Brown says, “Bordeaux’s recent reconsideration of hybrid grapes, experimental vineyards worldwide, and the work of forward-thinking producers are pointing to new possibilities for interspecific varieties. If we’re lucky, wines (made from them) demonstrate that, like vinifera, hybrids just need appropriate growing conditions and thoughtful winemaking to make fine wine.”

Foliar Fertilization In Vineyard Mineral Nutrient Management

May 8, 2023 | Lodi Wine Growers

What are the situations and developmental stages when foliar fertilization may be just what vines need to stimulate metabolism, enhance production, reduce stress and arrest newly observed nutrient deficiency symptoms on vine foliage? Viticulturist Stan Grant explains.

Growth Responses of Potted Vitis vinifera Cultivars Differ to a Mycorrhizal Inoculant and Phosphorus Fertilizer

May 3, 2023 | HortScience

Biological amendments, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculants are increasingly used in viticulture management plans as a way to improve plant productivity. But do they work the same in vineyards vs. greenhouses and from one variety to the next? This study shows they may not.

Blanc Du Soleil: A Wine Grape for the Southeast United States

April 26, 2023 | HortScience

Blanc Du Soleil, a white wine grape cultivar developed by Florida A&M University, is the first cooperative release with Texas A&M University. Targeted for wine production in the southern United States, its primary attributes are excellent quality potential and resistance to Pierce’s disease. Blanc Du Soleil produces wines comparable to Pinot Gris, with notes of pear, apple, peach and pineapple, and is distinct from Blanc Du Bois, a parent of the new variety. Nurseries interested in propagating these cultivars may contact Florida A&M for licensing.

These Lab-Grown Grapes Could Be the Future of American Wine

April 21, 2023 | Inside Hook

In this article, wine professionals weigh in on new grape varieties. One notes that, “with hybrids representing less than 5% of all the vineyard plantings in the world, these wines are not typically something consumers are asking for, or even aware of.” But “in a climate-ravaged world, these lesser-known, non-name-brand grapes offer a whole lot of potential,” the author writes.

A Rapid Glove-Based Inoculum Sampling Technique to Monitor Erysiphe necator in Commercial Vineyards

April 20, 2023 | APS Publications

Based on trials in commercial vineyards in Oregon, Washington and California, this study finds that vineyard worker gloves worn during canopy manipulation and used as a sampling method for assessing powdery mildew infection are as effective as impaction traps and more accurate than visual surveys or leaf swabs. “Glove swabs,” the authors write, “could significantly reduce sampling costs due to the lack of need for specialized equipment, and time required for swab collection and processing.”

A Guide to Sustainable Wine Certifications in the U.S.

April 19, 2023 | SommTV

This article breaks down the differences across sustainability certification programs. It’s written as a guide for consumers looking for meaning behind on-bottle branding, but it also helps to illustrate the range of options producers are faced with when mapping out their sustainability journey. As the authors write, “For the number of sustainable winemaking efforts a winery can adopt, it seems there’s an equal number of certifications to pursue.”

The Impact of Low Winter Rainfall on Grape and Wine Composition

April 18, 2023 | InfoWine

This paper, which received the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology’s Best Oenology Paper Award 2022, shows the importance of seasonal soil water availability in defining regional wine styles (this study focused on Shiraz), and establishes a framework for irrigation strategies to maintain those styles in the context of a changing climate. Indeed, according to the authors, climate change will alter regions’ wine styles if practices are not adopted or adapted in the vineyard and in the winery.

Hansen: The Fumigation Fade

April 15, 2023 | Good Fruit Grower

As Washington growers replant aging vineyards, they now have research to guide their decisions for managing nematodes, present in more than 60% of the state’s vineyards. Soil fumigation is effective in suppressing dagger nematodes, the study shows, but not northern root-knot nematodes, where adoption of rootstocks may be a better long-term option.

McIlquham: Digging for Health Reports

April 15, 2023 | Good Fruit Grower

Extensive work has been done to identify indicators for “good” soil health. But soil diversity makes it hard to define what’s good across the country. “Not all farmers can compare their soil test results to each other, especially across soil types, climatic zones or cropping systems,” writes Molly McIlquham, extension coordinator for the Washington Soil Health Initiative at Washington State University. “Ultimately, soil health is contextually and regionally specific.” But the State of the Soils project seeks to set soil health indicator values across Washington’s soils and assess their response to soil management practices in nine specialty crops, including grape.

Mitigating the Effects of Grapevine Red Blotch Disease

April 11, 2023 | American Vineyard Magazine

Crop thinning and deficit irrigation are commonly used to improve fruit quality, but these practices won’t help in red blotch-infected vines. As the new UCCE San Joaquin County Viticulture Advisor Justin Tanner explains, red blotch disease traps grapevines’ sugars in the leaves, not allowing them to translocate to developing clusters as they would in a healthy vine. “There are no curative methods,” he says. His advice? “Starting clean, staying clean,” ultimately removing infected vines.

Scientist Bruce Reisch on How Can Growers Withstand Climate Change

April 6, 2023 | WXXI News

In this radio interview, Cornell grape breeder Bruce Reisch discusses the climate change-related drivers of grape breeding and even to breeding itself. He says a great deal of his nearly 40-year career has been focused on developing grape varieties that are more resilient and require fewer inputs. Since the process begins with collecting pollen, Bruce says he’s been “out there every year making crosses in the month of June,” typically around Father’s Day. “That has gotten much earlier in the last decade.” Bruce also notes that not all climate change solutions will be genetic, referencing hormonal manipulations his colleague, Cornell fruit physiologist Jason Londo, is working on.

Technical Note–Update on the AWRI’s Smoke ‘Background Levels Database’

April 2023 | Australian Wine Research Institute

Because several compounds used as markers of smoke exposure in grapes can be detected in non-smoke-exposed samples, AWRI scientists have been working to develop the background levels for these compounds in both exposed and non-exposed fruit and wine. They published a database of these threshold data for an initial set of 12 varieties in 2022, and have now added 9 more, bringing the total to 21 varieties. The values “can be used to help interpret results when grapes or wines are analyzed for smoke markers, allowing producers to assess whether or not their samples are likely to have been exposed to smoke.”

June 7, 2023

West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force Smoke Summit

Virtual event

June 7-9, 2023

ASEV-Eastern Section Conference

Austin, TX

June 26, 2023

NGRA Mid-Year Board Meeting

Napa, CA

June 26-29, 2023

ASEV National Conference

Napa, CA

July 6, 2023

WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series

Stop the Spread: Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Webinar

Virtual event

July 17-21, 2023

GiESCO Conference

Ithaca, NY

July 20, 2023

ASEV Webinar:

Effects of Viticultural Mechanization on Working Time Requirements and Production Costs

Virtual event

August 10, 2023

WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series

Stop the Spread: Xylella fastidiosa Webinar

Virtual event

August 24-25, 2023

Michigan State University

Dirt to Glass Annual Conference

Traverse City, MI

September 19-21, 2023

FIRA USA

Salinas, CA