WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2020

The 11th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases (IWGTD) was held in Penticton, British Columbia, Cana- da. This workshop hallmarked 20 years of research on grapevine trunk diseases after the first meeting was held in Siena, Italy. This past meeting was attended by 150 del- egates from 21 countries. With this article we would like to provide feedback to the wine industry as to the latest information regarding the disease cycles and manage- ment of grapevine trunk diseases. GRAPE GROWING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA (BC) The wine grape growing area in BC is in comparison with other production areas not large with 4 249 hectares. As of the start of this year, there are 280 registered wineries within BC. The BC wine industry contributed 2.2 billion Canadian dollars to the national economy in 2015. The BC wineries attract more than 1 million visi- tors each year. The most planted red grapes include: Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sau- vignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz. The most planted white grapes are: Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot blanc and Viognier. Most of the vineyards are planted in close proximity to the lakes, which are stretched out over the Okanagan Valley (photo 1). Even though situated so far north, the cli- mate is not very cool during the growing

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PHOTO 1. The vineyards in the Okanagan Valley are situated on the banks of the Okanagan Lake.

Feedback from the 11th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases

JUNE 2020

LIZEL MOSTERT 1 & FRANCOIS HALLEEN 2 : 1 Department of Plant Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch; 2 ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch KEYWORDS: Grapevine trunk diseases, disease management

WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2020 44