Texas Wine Industry Makes Great Strides

Texas is amongst the leading 5 wine-producing states in the U.S., with a yearly financial worth of $13.1 billion.
Photo by Tamara Garza

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Viticulture and Fruit Lab, organizationally housed within the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and run by workers within Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, has actually been continually serving the state’s quickly growing red wine market considering that 2007.

Located in Fredericksburg, the lab focuses on fruit disease-fighting research study and recognizing methods to improve the production worth for Texas fruit growers. To date, the center has actually played an essential function in assisting the Texas Hill Country end up being a leading 5 red wine grape-producing area in the U.S.

“We are one department with one objective– bring our research study, mentor, and Extension abilities in the service of our cultivation markets throughout Texas,” states Department Head Amit Dhingra,Ph D. “The Viticulture and Fruit Lab in Fredericksburg is a vital part of our objective and has a tested performance history of attending to vital concerns dealt with by the market.”

PIERCE’S ILLNESS CONNECTION

The require for the lab ended up being apparent in early 2000 when numerous formerly untouched Texas wineries started suffering the results ofPierce’s disease This illness can trigger massive damage to grapevines and considerable financial losses to growers. Pierce’s illness threatened the emerging red wine market’s ongoing development and long-lasting success.

“Once we had the ability to at first get Pierce’s illness under control, we started taking a look at transitioning into sustainable, long-lasting management methods,” states AgriLife Extension Fruit Specialist Jim Kamas “We started examining unique paths to illness resistance to conquer a few of the constraints Pierce’s illness has on red wine grape production. The laboratory was essential in the trials and ultimate releases of brand-new Pierce’s disease-resistant red wine grape ranges. The laboratory continues to deal with brand-new methods to manage Pierce’s illness, consisting of effectiveness research studies on a brand-new biocontrol representative and an unique environmental technique to illness management being examined by Jacy Lewis, Laboratory Manager.”

In addition to the work Kamas and Lewis are directing with red wine grape production, the laboratory homes Bri Crowley, Viticulture Program Specialist with AgriLife Extension

“While Bri’s main obligation is AgriLife Extension education and outreach to red wine grape growers, she has a strong applied research study program devoted to handling fungal pathogens in grapes,” Kamas states. “These pathogens represent a long ignored and inadequately comprehended hazard to top quality red wine grape production, which is now becoming among the most considerable obstacles to market development.”

BEYOND WHITE WINE GRAPES

” I believe a frequently unacknowledged however important part of our objective is research study and outreach in fruit crops besides red wine and grapes,” Lewis states while referencing how the area’s fruit growers are dealing with a number of difficulties with increasing production expenses and the accessibility of labor. “We are constantly searching for methods to assist in research study, outreach, and assistance in these locations.”

As such, the laboratory takes a look at methods to reinforce the workforce within the fruit market.

“One considerable difficulty the market deals with is that a number of our most educated and knowledgeable fruit growers are retiring,” Lewis states. “Their kids are typically not thinking about taking control of those operations, so the majority of the brand-new folks thinking about horticultural operations are not originating from a standard farming training. Many times, they pertain to us from metropolitan backgrounds. We are accountable for bridging that space by supplying education
and training.”

In addition to the main objective of red wine grape production, the laboratory concentrates on fruits that provide a high-profit capacity and an unsaturated market that can be grown sustainably in the Texas environment. There is a strong concentrate on fruits ideal for agritourism, little acreage holders, and brand-new growers.

For example, a specialized crop location the research study group is checking out is caneberry production, consisting of an unique method that Lewis is performing for raspberry production. When took into operation, it would represent both a brand-new and incredibly high-value crop for Texas fruit manufacturers with a high capacity for natural production.

“We have absolutely nothing however favorable momentum progressing to improve the potential customers of growers throughout the area,” Dhingra states. “We have actually met a number of red wine manufacturers in addition to have continuous conversations with fruit growers, identifying their vital requirements and matching our resources to much better serve them.”