In the past year I have planted about 10 different varieties of grapes, and I am finding machine gun looking bullet damage in them.
Can anyone tell me what is going on, I know it is some kind of pest issue, but don’t know what it is or what I should do about it.
Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can offer.
John in Kentucky
That’s grape phylloxera. It is an aphid-like sucking insect.
Phylloxera is an aphid-like sucking insect with both root (which causes the most plant damage) and leaf-feeding stages.
The way to avoid it is with a resistant rootstock. Not much help at this stage.
CDMS lists 56 products applicable to
Crop = Fresh Grape
Pest 1 = phylloxera
Nah, a machine gun is an automated ‘hole puncher’. Looks like you have the work of a needle infected with Smallpox.
Just kidding.
Foliar phylloxera is only present on grapes with resistant roots, so it won’t cause any harm, it just looks ugly.
So, I have planted 10 different varieties of grapes, which I got from a variety of nurseries. Now 9 of the ten have some of this damage to their leaves, some more than others.
I also have three more grape plants that are in pots, and sitting far away from my grape vineyard, and none of them have been damaged yet,.
Are you sure there is nothing that can be done to stop these insects and to clear this up? If not, how did the nurseries which they came from manage to keep them healthy and clear??
Hoping someone might have some answers for me.
Thank you in advance for giving it some thought!
John in Kentucky
Richard responded with a link to a website that lists chemical controls.
Check with the crop advisors at Nutrien Ag.