Softer Ways to Fight Fungus | Shady Lane Cellars

Fungal pressures are complex in Michigan State’s humid continental climate. Andy Fles, Vineyard Manager at Shady Lane Cellars, uses a fungicide program that's about 50% organic, but he wondered if even softer products could keep diseases at bay.

Andy got a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant and set up an experiment to test his usual program and softer products against four common fungal diseases:

• Powdery Mildew
• Downy Mildew
• Sour Rot
• Botrytis

His conventional method included bacterium-based products and neonicotinoids, while his soft program leaned more on oils like

stylet, neem, thyme, and orange; and a Lupin seed extract product.

Andy counted infected leaves to assess mildew pressure. To assess botrytis and sour rot, teams from Michigan State University, Rufus Isaacs Lab, and Tim Miles Lab ran tests on clusters from each treatment.

The project is ongoing, but results so far show that the soft products are keeping pace with his standard program.

Andy is grateful for the SARE funding that helped him achieve this project. He looks forward to raising awareness of how soft products can be effective for wet-climate vineyards.