VASCM: European Grapevine Moth Quarantine in Santa Clara County

[Mary Lindsay]

Many of you may already know, but in case you don't, the European Grapevine Moth has been found in Santa Clara County (in the South County), and a quarantine has been called around Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Some of our appellation vineyards may be in this quarantine area. You can read more about it with some of the details and a map of the quarantine area in this story in the Gilroy Dispatch, at http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/268920-update-moths-force-quarantine-of-grapes-in-south-county .

Larry Bettiga of the UCD Extension gave us an update on pests including the LBAM and EGVM at one of our meetings this summer. At that time the EGVM was a more distant threat in Napa and Sonoma. It is now in our neighborhood.  You can read a quite detailed description of the EGVM in an article in Practical Winery & Vineyard at http://practicalwinery.com/marapr10/moth5.htm .  


At this time, apparently the Santa Clara Co. Ag Commissioner has not yet published what protocols will need to be followed under this quarantine, and hopefully that will be coming soon. You can read the requirements that Sonoma County has implemented at http://www.sonoma-county.org/agcomm/european_gv_moth.htm, although they have had since March to put this into effect.

I understand that the SCMWA will be reviewing the situation and issuing some guidelines, hopefully to help keep the pest from spreading in the Santa Cruz Mts. as fruit is brought into the wineries from quarantined areas during harvest. The larva is spread on the fruit, leaves, etc., and pomace at the winery needs to be composted to assure that the heat generated kills any larvae remaining.

So let's see what the Ag Commissioner plans to do. And in the mean time, you might want to read up on what the EGVM is all about.

Mary Lindsay
President, VASCM
408-234-2079 (cell)
mary at munsvineyard.com
www.munsvineyard.com