REPRESENTATIVES for Riverland grape growers are continuing to push for financial support to aid the recovery from recent hailstorm damage.
Assessments of damage sustained by Riverland vineyards during a hailstorm that swept across key grape-growing areas earlier this month remain ongoing and CCW viticulturalist Ashley Lipman said the organisation’s chairman, Peter Hill, had discussed the need to provide financial support for impacted growers with Barker MP Tony Pasin.
“(It) appears to have started near the Holder district of Waikerie then travelled through to Moorook, Loveday, and Barmera with parts of Winkie, Monash and Renmark also affected,” Mr Lipman said.
“About 115 CCW growers were impacted by the hail in some form, with losses from 10 to 15 per cent, through to almost total crop destruction. Vineyards around Loveday appear to be most impacted.
“Despite having to deal with the loss of crop within their vineyards, many growers moved quickly to apply rot-prevention sprays in susceptible varieties, along with cover sprays for disease control.
“CCW chairman Peter Hill thanked (Mr) Pasin for visiting CCW hail-damaged properties… and expressed hope that additional assistance will be available in the near future for the affected growers.”
Speaking at an online Bouncing Back From Hail conference, held earlier this month by the Australian Wine Research Institute, Accolade Wines viticulturalist Ian Macrae said most vineyards could recover from the hailstorm in time for next year’s vintage.
“We’re fairly experienced in recovering vines, since this is about the fourth hailstorm we’ve had in the last five years,” Mr Macrae said.
“They’ve all been late October or early November, so the growth stages have always been about the same.
“We know pretty much what to expect, and how to react to the damage. Our approach is that unless it’s severely damaged, we generally let the vine go its own way.
“If there’s moderate damage, or less, in many cases we can still retrieve a pretty useful crop in this season.”
Mr Macrae advised Riverland growers to avoid heavy watering on damaged vines.
“We’ve checked soil-moisture monitors to severely impacted vines after a hail event, and their water use just virtually stops,” he said.
“There’s a temptation to go in and try to jump-start the vines by putting on lots of water and fertiliser, but we’ve learnt that’s not the best way to go, particularly if there’s severe damage.
“You don’t want to flood them and cause waterlogging at that stage, (and) you don’t want piles of potentially toxic nutrients piling up around the roots.
“Let the vine restart by itself. Make sure there’s enough water and when they start to grow again… you can make use of the root growth that has started after the shock the vines had.”
The full Australian Wine Research Institute Bouncing Back From Hail conference can be viewed by visiting the website (www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGA3I-kmY_Y).
