Projects
1. Development of an Integrated Pest Management System for Insect Pests in Nova Scotia Vineyards
Kirk Hillier, Acadia University
The objective of this study was to develop methods for monitoring and surveying insect and mite pests within
Nova Scotia vineyards. Data was collected in this initial study to aid development of an integrated pest
management (IPM) strategy for the Grape Growing Association of Nova Scotia (GGANS) and Winery Association of Nova Scotia. This included a baseline survey of regional growers, pest surveys across the province and development of the current website.
In order to accomplish this, key pest species distributions and regional life histories were defined for Nova Scotia.
It is anticipated that these results can be further analyzed to examine the effects of variable cultural techniques between vineyards, along with climate and microhabitat to develop economic thresholds for management and control strategies.
Methods were evaluated for surveying insect populations to enable forecasting of future infestations. This
included the use of pheromone trapping for selected pest species,Foliar and vine/spur sampling was conducted to identify populations of leafhoppers, cutworms, leafrollers, beetle (particularly multicoloured Asian/Harlequin ladybird beetle) and mite species.
Furthermore, this study included the development of the Viticulture Extension Website at Acadia University, both to disseminate the results of the current study and to act as a permanent resource for future studies and collaborative research. Details of this study, including the grower and pest surveys can be found by clicking links on the left column.
2.Wine grape breeding in Nova Scotia
Grape growers in Nova Scotia are keen to grow novel grape varieties that are well-suited to Nova Scotia's climate and soils. To this end, a new grape breeding project that aims to generate new wine grape varieties for Nova Scotia growers has been initiated by Dr Sean Myles, Assistant Professor at the NSAC and Canada Research Chair for Agricultural Genetic Diversity. With support from Jost Vineyards and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, the first cross was made in the summer of 2011 between two popular Nova Scotia wine grapes, New York Muscat and L'Acadie Blanc. To find out more about grape breeding in Nova Scotia, visit the Myles lab website www.cultivatingdiversity.org.