Development and optimization of an in-field, automated detection system for airborne grapevine powdery mildew spores

Erysiphe necator is the causative agent of grapevine powdery mildew the most economicallyimportant disease of grapes. Disease management of this airborne pathogen is predicated onroutine preemptive pesticide applications a costly and environmentally impactful approach thatultimately selects for fungicide-resistant pathogens. Our airborne pathogen monitoring system is anovel technology that allows growers to more precisely control airborne pathogens sprayingfungicides only when inoculum is present. Our technology becomes an integral part of best practicepest management programs creating greater economic social and environmental sustainability.Our goal is to develop an effective pathogen monitoring system for airborne grapevine powderymildew. For our current field-piloted product we have developed effective spore collectiondevices verified a proprietary robust DNA-based laboratory analysis validated that our monitoringsystem successfully reduces fungicide applications and demonstrated commercial demand. Ournext objectives are to identify the spatial resolution necessary for confident early warning ofgrapevine powdery mildew and to understand the limitations of our current detection platform.Thus we will 1) perform field tests to determine the optimal layout of devices in vineyards withvariable topography and 2) perform laboratory tests to understand the impact of environmentalinhibitors (e.g. soil sulfur dust) on our DNA-based analysis. The results of this project contributeto Research Priority 2b: Plant protection against abiotic and/or biotic stresses: monitoring detectionand management. With appropriately placed spore collection devices and a robust laboratoryanalysis growers can be confident in our monitoring system and use it to refine their managementpractices.