So, I should have known that growing grapes would not be a walk in the park and, indeed, it is not. This fact was made painfully obvious this week with the arrival of the Japanese Beetle. This pest of pests is abundant across our farm and has taken notice of the 60 new grape plants and their shiny green leaves.
The Japanese Beetle is native to, wait for it, Japan and came to the US early last century through New Jersey (go figure). It has since spread throughout much of the East coast and West to the Mississippi river. The Japanese Beetle eats the leaves of several hundred plants and flowers in the US. They usually feed in groups like a feeding frenzy of sharks and also similarly, the presence of a few beetles eating usually attracts many beetles. Either the male or female produces a scent while eating, which attracts the opposite sex and so on and so on.
Our vineyard management crew worked tirelessly applying a soapy water mixture on the vines, but this proved to have no deterrent capabilities. Next, and this was a difficult decision, came the liquid Sevin. We had wanted to keep the vineyard free of all insecticides and pesticides, etc., but the thought of losing some or even most of our vines proved too difficult to swallow. Commence with the poison.
So far the results seem promising. Whereas yesterday we had several bugs on each plant, today there are only a few beetles on all plants.
The rest of the summer will be spent brainstorming options for long term treatment of the beetles.
Three Japanese Beetle damage shots and one shot of the growth to this point.
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