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- Author or Editor: Michelle Kirkland x
Iowa was the sixth largest producer of grapes in the United States in the early 1900s, with 24,000 ha under production. The rapid expansion of petrochemicals post-World War II and grape's sensitivity to 2,4-D herbicides reduced vineyard size in Iowa to 28 ha in 2001. Recent state governmental support for organic fruit research and viticulture in general has led to the expansion of the grape and wine industry in Iowa. As of 2001, 5883 ha of organic grapes were produced in the United States. Challenges to organic grape production in the Midwest include diseases and weeds. The cultivation of American grape cultivars is essential in organic viticulture in the Midwest, including cultivars that are relatively cold hardy and disease tolerant. From 2003 to 2004, we experimented on-farm at Kirkland Vineyards, Norwalk, Iowa, with methods of organically approved weed management. Three replications of plots consisting of five vines each of `Marechal Foch' were laid out in 2003 in a completely randomized design in a 1-year-old vineyard. Treatments consisted of wood chips, wood chips plus vinegar herbicide (All-Down™, Summer Set Co., Chaska, Minn.), and mowing when weeds and groundcover reached 15 cm. Wood chips decreased weed load significantly over mowing alone, but wood chips plus vinegar herbicide provided the most control over 2 years of the experiment. There was a trend toward greater plant height in the wood chip treatment, but no significant differences in plant height were observed among treatments.