Grape growers and wine producers have an opportunity to learn more about how this year's drought may affect their crop, as well as ways to weather the extremes at an upcoming "Viticulture Day" at SIUC.
The meeting, which runs from 10:00am-8:00pm Saturday, will focus on preparing for the coming decade... but organizers say they'll also spend quite a bit of time talking about this year's lack of water and extreme heat.
Agriculture Associate Professor Brad Taylor says while the grapes appear to be tolerating the drought for now, the future remains uncertain.
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Taylor says growers can mitigate the impact by making sure the plants are as healthy as they can be going into the fall and winter months. He says in some cases that'll include supplemental irrigation and other methods. Like other fruit crops, Taylor says grapes are maturing faster because of the lack of rain and hot temperatures. But he says that could change with the shift in weather over the coming days to cooler highs and lows.
Taylor, who is an expert in grape growing and wine making, says the lack of water brings unique challenges to the industry. For instance, this year at SIUC's vineyard they've had to install an electric fence to protect the fruit from birds, raccoons, deer, and turkey.
Taylor says he'll be talking with grape growers and producers about how they can protect their crop this year, as well as prepare it for winter and next year's growing season.
Taylor says in most cases, fruit crops are not suffering in the same way corn and soybeans are. He says producers are noticing earlier harvests and more concentrated flavors in some crops.
The seminar is Saturday from 10:00am-8:00pm. For more information, you can call 536-7751 or go to dce.siu.edu.
