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Vineyards report good yields
Sunday, November 08, 2009 | No comments posted.
SALEM (AP) — It may turn out to be a very good year for Oregon vineyards.
Final numbers are still pending, but the state’s vineyards are reporting good yields, volume and quality for 2009.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service said crop yields were higher in the Willamette Valley than in 2008, when overall production dropped after three years of booming growth.
At Domaine Margelle Vineyards near Silverton, workers picked about 20 tons of grapes in just over two hours to wrap up the harvest.
The 50-acre property, nestled in the foothills of the eastern Willamette Valley, sits at a higher elevation than most vineyards, so the harvest is usually a couple of weeks later, said vineyard manager Alonzo Martinez.
The lower temperature affects the growth stages of the fruit, and the grapes take longer to ripen.
Anticipating a late harvest, vineyards will need to spray a copper antifungal mixture on vines throughout the summer to keep the grapes from splitting and developing a fungus when the rain starts.
“If we don’t do our job at spraying the whole vineyard, we could easily lose all this fruit since it’s late harvest,” Martinez said.
Final numbers are still pending, but the state’s vineyards are reporting good yields, volume and quality for 2009.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service said crop yields were higher in the Willamette Valley than in 2008, when overall production dropped after three years of booming growth.
At Domaine Margelle Vineyards near Silverton, workers picked about 20 tons of grapes in just over two hours to wrap up the harvest.
The 50-acre property, nestled in the foothills of the eastern Willamette Valley, sits at a higher elevation than most vineyards, so the harvest is usually a couple of weeks later, said vineyard manager Alonzo Martinez.
The lower temperature affects the growth stages of the fruit, and the grapes take longer to ripen.
Anticipating a late harvest, vineyards will need to spray a copper antifungal mixture on vines throughout the summer to keep the grapes from splitting and developing a fungus when the rain starts.
“If we don’t do our job at spraying the whole vineyard, we could easily lose all this fruit since it’s late harvest,” Martinez said.
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