Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

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Crop Protection
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cropro

Fungicide programs used to manage powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) in

Australian vineyards
Marcel Essling a, Suzanne McKay b, Paul R. Petrie a, b, c, d, *
a
Australian Wine Research Institute, Waite Research Precinct, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia
b
South Australian Research and Development Institute, Waite Research Precinct, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia
c
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
d
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator Schwein) is a major disease of grapevines. Extensive empirical information is
Agrochemical available on the performance of fungicide programs, but little is known about the influence of cultivar, man­
Erysiphe necator agement system and especially the climate on grape growers’ fungicide use practices. Fungicide use records were
Resistance
analysed from a database that covered fifteen Australian production regions, seven seasons, and eight cultivars.
Practices
Sulphur was the predominant fungicide used. Differences in fungicide programs were small between cultivars
relative to differences between seasons. Fungicides were applied later in the season than recommended; after
fruit set. The evapotranspiration during the 30-days following the separation of the first leaf from the shoot tip
was a good predictor of the number of agrochemicals applied in all but the cooler regions. Growers over­
whelmingly conformed to guidelines to prevent the development of fungicide resistance. The effectiveness of
fungicide programs may be further improved by increasing the proportion of applications early in the season,
targeting more susceptible cultivars, and using evapotranspiration to help identify and respond to seasons with
high disease pressure. A better understanding of the practices of grape-growers may allow the refinement of
fungicide use recommendations.

1. Introduction the chasmothecia acting as an additional source of primary inoculum in

Unlike most fungal pests of the European grapevine (Vitis vinifera),
powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator Schwein) can thrive in relatively dry
environments and seasons. Hence it is one of the most economically
important diseases, both in Australia (Scholefield and Morison, 2010)
and world-wide (Pearson and Gadoury, 1992). Susceptibility varies
between cultivars; however, the fungus is able to infect all green tissues
and can cause severe damage to leaves and berries (Doster and Schna­
thorst, 1985). In seasons with favourable weather conditions or when
limited control measures are implemented the disease can be severe on
susceptible cultivars and result in yield reduction and loss of fruit quality
(Halleen and Holz, 2001). As little as 5% disease severity can result in off
flavours in the wine (Stummer et al., 2005).
In Australia and other Mediterranean climates powdery mildew
overwinters both as chasmothecia and within perennated buds as
dormant mycelium. Flag shoots that develop from these infected buds
are the main source of primary inoculum (Emmett et al., 1997b), with
this environment (Magarey et al., 1997). While the leaves and bunch
rachis remain susceptible to powdery mildew throughout the season, the
grapeberries develop ontogenic resistance shortly post fruit set
(Gadoury et al., 2003). Powdery mildew is favoured by humid weather,
but rainfall is not needed for disease development; the optimum con­
ditions are temperatures between 20 and 30 ◦ C and relative humidity
greater than 45% (Carroll and Wilcox, 2003; Delp, 1954). A range of
models are available to support growers with the application of fungi­
cides to control powdery mildew (e.g. Caffi et al., 2012; Carisse et al.,
2009; Gubler et al., 1999). By inference from the models and through
observations (Lybbert et al., 2016; Zito et al., 2018), growers vary their
fungicide programs in response to changes in environmental conditions
that may affect disease pressure. Powdery mildew models are rarely
used in Australia as the disease can be successfully controlled early in
the season with fixed-interval sprays, and the total number of applica­
tions can be minimised as late season applications are not required.
(Emmett et al., 1997a). In the mild and humid climate of Sacramento,

* Corresponding author. South Australian Research and Development Institute, Waite Research Precinct, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia.
E-mail address: paul.petrie@sa.gov.au (P.R. Petrie).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105369
Received 13 February 2020; Received in revised form 23 August 2020; Accepted 29 August 2020
Available online 1 September 2020
0261-2194/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Essling et al.
California, USA, field trials have demonstrated that the use of a powdery
mildew model can potentially reduce the number of fungicide applica­
tions by 2–3 per season compared to a standard calendar system (Gubler
et al., 1999). However, when grower’s practices were investigated the
opposite was observed. The growers that used a powdery mildew model
to inform their fungicide program often made more applications than
those using a calendar approach (Epstein and Bassein, 2003; Lybbert
et al., 2016). The efficacy of the programs wasn’t investigated, therefore
growers that did not use the model could have been making insufficient
applications for adequate control.
Fungicide programs are used to maintain the grapes as disease-free.
However, if weather conditions are favourable for disease or if appro­
priate sprays programs are not maintained, powdery mildew epidemics
can still occur in some seasons even in the arid climate of Washington
State, USA (Moyer et al., 2018). The number of active constituents
applied may serve as a proxy for disease pressure assuming that, on
average, growers aim to maximise profits (Lescot et al., 2014) by not
applying more fungicides than required to control disease and that ep­
idemics do not regularly occur. The criteria for the acceptance of disease
affected fruit is often an incidence of 3% or less in Australia (Petrie,
2017), therefore fungicide programs are likely to reflect the low toler­
ance for disease, and that most fungicides are designed to be applied in a
preventative as opposed to a curative manner. In most grape growing
regions in Australia, since the 1980’s, growers have been advised to
manage powdery mildew using a fixed-interval foliar fungicide pro­
gram, with a focus on early season management to prevent the initiation
of an epidemic by controlling inoculum loads while they are small
(Emmett et al., 1997a, 1997b). The program that is typically recom­
mended calls for fungicide applications to be made at two, four and six
weeks after bud burst (concluding approximately two weeks prior to
flowering), followed with further applications if monitoring showed
powdery mildew to be present or weather conditions are conducive for
disease development. To delay fungicide application until the disease is
detected in the vineyard is considered a management error. Symptoms
do not normally become obvious until after the disease is well estab­
lished, more than two months after budburst, and several weeks after the
epidemic was initiated (Emmett et al., 1997b). By this time control is at
best difficult, if not impossible (Emmett et al., 1984).
There are a wide range of active constituents available for the control
of powdery mildew in Australia (Essling and Lord, 2018). Considerable
information has been derived from efficacy trials, both as part of the
fungicide registration process and with an aim of refining fungicide
programs (e.g. Wicks et al., 1984; Wicks and Hitch, 2002). Besides the
expectations of efficacy, growers also make fungicide decisions based on
the cost, availability, ability to treat insect pests (i.e. elemental sulphur
is also registered for erinose mite, Colomerus vitis) or diseases (i.e. some
quinone outside inhibitor fungicides are also registered for botrytis,
Botrytis cinerea and downy mildew, Plasmopara viticola), compatibility
for tank mixing with other active constituents and concerns about
phytotoxic effects (Lybbert et al., 2016). Fungicide resistance is a
growing issue across horticultural crops; including grapevines (Hall and
McKay, 2017; Savocchia et al., 2004). In Australia, growers are sup­
ported with advice on managing the potential for fungicide resistance by
CropLife Australia (https://www.croplife.org.au/); they recommend a
maximum number of applications for site-specific fungicide activity
groups per season to minimise the likelihood of resistance developing
(Essling and Lord, 2018).
While optimum control strategies have been developed and the
suitability of a range of active constituents assessed, there is very little
Australian information available on what products are applied and how
grape growers in real world situations use them. This includes the timing
of the start of fungicide programs, if the spray program focuses on early
season or mid-season controls, and the responsiveness of spray programs
to varying disease pressure between seasons. The aim of this work is to
gain a better understanding of the actual spray application practices
over multiple growing seasons and across a range of Australian grape
2
Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369
growing regions with contrasting climates and production systems, in
order to optimise extension advice about powdery control and improve
the efficacy of the programs.
2. Methods
2.1. Data procurement
It is a legislative requirement of most Australian states and a
requirement of most wineries buying fruit that a record is maintained by
grape growers and vineyard managers of all of the pesticides applied in
the vineyard; these are colloquially known as ‘spray diaries’. The records
are reviewed by the grape purchaser to ensure that only registered
chemicals have been applied at the appropriate rates and that all
appropriate withholding periods have been met (Essling and Lord,
2018). This minimises the chance of agrochemical residues being
detected in Australian wine above the levels permitted by importing
countries. A database of fungicide applications was sourced from
GrapeWeb, the largest spray diary software company in Australia. While
pesticide records were available for most Australian wine regions, the
fifteen regions that recorded over 1000 individual fungicide applica­
tions were chosen for further analysis so that the spray program used by
an individual large grower could not bias results. Likewise, the cultivars
were restricted to the eight most commonly planted in Australia,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sau­
vignon Blanc, Semillon and Shiraz (Anon, 2018).
Relevant information recorded in each database entry included; the
region (geographical indicator) where the vineyard was located, the
date when the fungicide was applied, the grape cultivar it was applied
to, the active constituent, the pest or disease being targeted (in this case
powdery mildew) and the phenological stage (as per Coombe (1995)) of
the vines at the time of application. Recognising that the database could
potentially contain duplicate entries or incomplete records, efforts were
made to remove erroneous data from the dataset.
2.2. Assessment of resistance management
Most of the synthetic fungicides have a single mode of action;
therefore, if appropriate practices are not followed there is a risk of the
development of resistant strains of powdery mildew. The number of
applications per management unit and the number consecutive appli­
cations of fungicide groups, was averaged across the eight cultivars and
fifteen Geographical Indicator regions. Resistance is unlikely to develop
to multisite fungicides (primarily Sulphur) which were therefore
excluded from this analysis. The fungicide program for each block was
compared to the Crop Life Australia powdery mildew management
strategy for grapes (https://www.croplife.org.au/) which provides
guidelines on fungicide programs to prevent the development of
resistance.
2.3. Growing regions and environmental conditions
The Australian wine industry is characterised by three broad pro­
duction systems; the inland irrigated regions that irrigate from the
Murray-Darling river system (Riverland, Murray Darling, Swan Hill, and
Riverina) and produce commercial grapes and wine generally at higher
yields (targeting greater than 20 t/ha) and using higher volumes of
irrigation (Dry et al., 2004). The warm premium winegrowing regions
such as the Clare and Barossa Valleys, McLaren Vale, and Coonawarra,
where yield targets are lower, and the sprawling canopies are generally
small and sparse (Dry et al., 2004). The cooler regions such as the Yarra
Valley, Tasmania and the Adelaide Hills, experience higher rainfall and
often maintain their canopies using the traditional vertical shoot posi­
tioning training system (Dry et al., 2004).
In order to investigate the impact of environmental conditions on
disease pressure and the resulting fungicide programs the
M. Essling et al. Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

evapotranspiration was related to the average number of active con­ 3. Results

stituents applied per block in each region. Evapotranspiration was
selected as it integrates the environmental conditions that impact on the 3.1. Regional and seasonal variation in fungicide programs
development of powdery mildew (Moyer et al., 2016). Weather data was
sourced from weather stations maintained by the Australian Bureau of The average number of active constituents applied varied signifi­
Meteorology or the South Australian Natural Resources Management cantly between the regions (Fig. 1a). Generally, more active constituents
Board (Table 1). The location of the stations was selected based on their were applied in the cooler and wetter regions such as Tasmania and the
proximity to the vineyard growing regions. The selection of the most Yarra Valley compared to the warm premium regions. These cooler re­
appropriate station was difficult in some of the larger regions, especially gions also saw a greater range in the number of active constituents
where the vineyard locations cover a range of microclimates. The applied between blocks and seasons. Although the Murray-Darling basin
evapotranspiration was calculated using the short crop version of the regions experience the highest temperatures (Riverland, Murray
Penman-Monteith equation as per Allen et al. (1998) and was summed Darling, Swan Hill and the Riverina) more active constituents were also
across the eight cultivars from each weather station for the 30 days after applied to vineyards in these regions than in the warm premium regions
the growth stage had on average reached E-L 7. such as the Barossa and Clare Valleys. In the Barossa and Clare Valleys
25% of blocks for most cultivars received only three or four active
2.4. Analysis constituents per seasons.
The number of active constituents used varied significantly between
All data processing was conducted in Microsoft Excel 2016 (Red­ seasons and regions (Fig. 1b). In South Eastern Australia (this includes
mond, WA, USA) and statistical analysis was completed using Minitab the studied regions except Margaret River) most regions applied
18.1 (Minitab, Inc., State College, PA, USA). As most data was cate­ significantly more active constituents in the 2012 and 2017 vintages.
gorical and did not conform to a normal distribution, it was processed The Yarra Valley did not follow this trend and used significantly more
using a Box-Cox transformation using a calculated optimal λ, prior to active constituents in 2018. Tasmania used similar numbers of active
analysis using a general linear model. constituents across most seasons, except in 2016 when less were used,
likewise Margaret River had a relatively consistent use of active con­
stituents, except for 2012 when less were used. The interquartile range
was generally two or three active constituents per block and season for
all of the regions except the cooler and wetter sites of Tasmania, Yarra
Valley and the Adelaide hills.
Table 1 The number of fungicide application events per block followed a very
Weather station information , enterprise and management unit data for Char­ similar trend to the number of active constituents applied across seasons
donnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Semillon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and and regions, and very few application events included more than two
Cabernet Sauvignon in fifteen Australian Geographical Indicator regions over
active ingredients (data not shown). On average 9% of application
the vintages from 2012 through to 2018. All weather stations are maintained by
events utilised two active constituents i.e. an average of 1.09 fungicides
the Australian Bureau of Meteorology except for Langhorne Creek and Wrat­
tonbully which are maintained as part of the South Australian Natural Resources
were applied per application event. In Margaret River and Coonawarra
Management weather network. the number of active constituents applied per event was significantly
higher than the average. The Yarra Valley, Wrattonbully, Murray
Geographical Weather Weather Number of Number of
Indicator station station enterprises blocks
Darling, Swan Hill, Langhorne Creek and Clare Valley saw a significant
Region description reference (management increase in the number of active constituents applied per application
number units) event between 2012 and 2018 (Fig. 2). Three regions (Riverland,
Adelaide Hills Lenswood 23801 179 1141 Padthaway and the Barossa Valley) maintained fungicide programs
Research where more than 75% of the blocks received one active constituent
Centre application at a time.
Barossa Valley Nuriootpa 23373 326 3150
Viticultural
Clare Valley Clare High 21131 98 669 3.2. Variation in fungicide program with cultivar
School
Coonawarra Coonawarra 26091 104 520 In many regions (Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Swan Hill, Coona­
Langhorne Langhorne na 97 1104 warra, McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek) Chardonnay and to a lesser
Creek Creek Central
extent Pinot Noir had significantly more active constituents applied
Margaret Witchcliffe 9746 119 1021
River compared to the other cultivars. Likewise, Sauvignon Blanc and/or
McLaren Vale McLaren Vale 23876 297 1655 Cabernet Sauvignon often had fewer active constituents applied
(Pirramimma compared to the other cultivars, especially in Tasmania and Wratton­
Winery)
bully. Some of the cultivars by region combinations were uncommon,
Murray Mildura 76031 404 2470
Darling Airport for example Pinot Noir in Margaret River and Semillon in Wrattonbully
Padthaway Padthaway 26100 54 701 and Coonawarra, and due to the small sample size there was more un­
South certainty with these results (Fig. 1a). The Riverland, Riverina, Barossa
Riverina Griffith Airport 75041 376 2722 and Clare Valleys had a consistent number of active constituents used
AWS
across all the cultivars; the interquartile range for the number of active
Riverland Loxton 24024 237 1531
Research constituents applied per cultivar was also similar for these regions (two
Centre or three). The range in the number of active constituents used across the
Swan Hill Swan Hill 77094 53 456 cultivars in one region was less than the range in the number of active
Aerodrome
constituents across the seasons for the same region.
Tasmania Launceston 91104 23 217
Airport
Comparison 3.3. Evapotranspiration and fungicide use
Wrattonbully Jessie na 73 612
Yarra Valley Coldstream 86383 44 330 The sum of the evapotranspiration during the thirty days following
Total 2484 18299
the separation of the first leaf (E-L 7) was correlated with the number of

3
M. Essling et al.
active constituents applied to control powdery mildew through the
growing season for eleven of the fourteen regions (Table 2) and for the
regions pooled together (Table 2, Fig. 3). The regions that did not show a
relationship between evapotranspiration and the number of active
constituents applied were generally cooler and wetter (lower ETo) and
had a higher number of active constituents applied. While significant,
the relationship between ETo and the number of active constituents
applied was weaker when the data was pooled across the regions
(Table 2, Fig. 3) compared to many of the individual regions, where the
relationship between the ETo and the number of active constituents
applied was very good (r2 > 0.75). When the ETo in each region and
season was used as a co-variate for the analysis of the number of active
constituents applied per block, significant differences between the re­
gions were still apparent (Table 2).
3.4. Timing of fungicide programs
The inland irrigated regions (Riverland, Murray Darling, Swan Hill
and the Riverina) generally started and finished their fungicide pro­
grams earlier than the cooler regions (e.g. Tasmania) (Table 3). The
Yarra Valley started its fungicide program early and at an earlier E-L
stage compared to the other cool regions (Tasmania and the Adelaide
Hills). The cooler regions maintained a spray program over a longer
period than the warmer regions, and most of the warm regions
concluded their fungicide application programs prior to the new-year
(Table 3). Generally, the warm premium regions (e.g. the Barossa Val­
ley) maintained a longer average interval between fungicide
4
Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369
Fig. 1. (a) The effect of cultivar and region on the
mean number of active constituents applied per
management unit in each season for the control of
powdery mildew in Australian vineyards. From left to
right; Dark blue – Chardonnay; orange – Pinot Noir;
grey – Pinot Gris; yellow – Semillion; light blue –
Merlot; green – Shiraz; white – Sauvignon Blanc; and
brown – Cabernet Sauvignon. Coloured columns
represent the interquartile range; the central hori­
zontal bar within each column is the mean and the
error bars are 5% Fischer’s LSDs. As there was limited
or no data available for Tasmania, Semillion, Merlot
and Shiraz; McLaren Vale, Pinot Gris; Coonawarra,
Pinot Gris and Semillon; Langhorne Creek and Wrat­
tonbully, Semillon; and Clare and Swan Hill, Pinot
Noir, the analysis was completed excluding the rele­
vant cultivars so that all the contrasts could be
included. (b) The effect of season and region on the
mean number of active constituents applied per
management unit for the control of powdery mildew
in Australian Vineyards. From left to right, 2012 –
dark blue; 2013 – orange; 2014 – grey; 2015 – yellow;
2016 – light blue; 2017 – green; and 2018 – white.
Coloured columns represent the interquartile range;
the central horizontal bar within each column is the
mean and the error bars are 5% Fischer’s LSDs. As
there was no data collected for the Riverina in 2012,
the analysis was completed twice; once excluding the
Riverina and then excluding the 2012 vintage so that
all contrasts could be included. (For interpretation of
the references to colour in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
applications compared to the cooler regions; some of the inland irrigated
regions, especially the Riverland, also maintained a short average in­
terval (Table 3). Swan Hill and the Yarra Valley commenced their
fungicide program at a significantly earlier growth stage compared to
the other regions. The other inland irrigated and cool regions also
started their fungicide programs at an earlier growth stage than the
warm premium regions. Twenty-five percent of growers in the Barossa
and Clare Valleys did not apply their first fungicide until seven leaves
were separated on the growing shoot (E-L 14). The growth stage of the
final fungicide application was similar across all the regions; the only
region that applied fungicides on average after sugars had begun to
accumulate (E-L 34) was the Margaret River (Table 3); however, the
latest quartile of growers applied the list fungicide at E-L 34 or later in
many other regions.
When the number of fungicide applications was averaged by growth
stage across the GI regions, seasons and cultivars, a significant positive
trend was seen between winter bud (E-L 1) and berries still hard and
green (E-L 33) (Fig. 4). This showed that relatively more active con­
stituents were applied later in the season and at more advanced stages of
phenology, than at earlier stages of growth. Growth stages above E-L 33
were not included in the regression analysis as beyond this stage of
development the fruit is close to harvest and fungicide application is
reduced to minimise the chances of residues in the wine. A similar
response was seen when the date (r2 = 0.53; P < 0.001), as opposed to
phenological stage was used as the predicting variable (data not shown).
M. Essling et al. Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

Fig. 2. The effect of season and region on the mean number of active constituents applied per fungicide application for the control of powdery mildew in Australian
vineyards. From left to right, 2012 – dark blue; 2013 – orange; 2014 – grey; 2015 – yellow; 2016 – light blue; 2017 – green; and 2018 – white. Coloured columns
represent the interquartile range; the central horizontal bar within each column is the mean and the error bars are 5% Fischer’s LSDs. Where no column is present the
upper and lower quartile both equalled one and the interquartile range was zero. As there was no data collected for the Riverina in 2012, the analysis was completed
twice; once excluding the Riverina and then excluding the 2012 vintage so that all contrasts could be included. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Table 2
The relationship between the evapotranspiration for the thirty days following the first leaf separating from the shoot tip (E-L 7) and the number of active constituents
applied over seven seasons in fourteen Australian wine regions.
Region Number of active constituents Average evapotranspiration (mm) Slope of ETo vs number of active constituents r2 significance

Australiaa na na − 0.057 (0.0053) 0.538 ***

Tasmania 9.11 (1.23) 96.4 (26.3) − 0.049 (0.0266) 0.405 ns
Yarra Valley 8.65 (1.46) 81.6 (26.3) − 0.055 (0.0566) 0.188 ns
Margaret River 9.33 (1.20) 100.8 (26.3) 0.058 (0.0272) 0.480 ns
Adelaide Hills 9.04 (1.13) 131.3 (26.3) − 0.031 (0.0264) 0.222 ns
Riverland 8.49 (1.19) 145.1 (26.3) − 0.033 (0.0086) 0.746 *
Wrattonbully 7.35 (1.12) 129.1 (26.3) − 0.023 (0.0077) 0.639 *
Murray Darling 8.41 (1.15) 138.3 (26.3) − 0.043 (0.0062) 0.904 ***
Padthaway 6.91 (1.13) 114.6 (26.3) − 0.033 (0.0138) 0.533 +
Swan Hill 6.74 (1.18) 105.1 (26.3) − 0.044 (0.0172) 0.568 *
Coonawarra 7.13 (1.12) 119.5 (26.3) − 0.045 (0.0169) 0.591 *
McLaren Vale 6.99 (1.13) 131.8 (26.3) − 0.089 (0.0308) 0.624 *
Langhorne Creek 7.09 (1.17) 141.7 (26.3) − 0.071 (0.0124) 0.868 **
Riverina 6.14 (1.21) 129.2 (28.3) − 0.035 (0.0056) 0.928 **
Clare Valley 6.30 (1.18) 143.3 (26.3) − 0.064 (0.0137) 0.812 **
Barossa Valley 5.53 (1.17) 141.3 (26.3) − 0.052 (0.0119) 0.795 **

Notes: The mean values are calculated across the seven seasons (six for Riverina) from the General Linear Model using the evapotranspiration figures as co-variates;
values in brackets are Fishers 5% LSD’s, and comparisons can be made within columns. The slopes are calculated from linear regressions between the evapotrans­
piration (independent variable) and the number of fungicides applied for each region (seven for all regions except Riverina which had six) or all regionsa, designated
Australia (see also Fig. 5), values in brackets are the standard errors of the slopes, r2 and significance values also relate to the regression analysis. + p < 0.1, *p < 0.05,
**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ns not significant, na not applicable.

3.5. Composition of fungicide programs and resistance management
Approximately 62% of the active constituents applied to manage
powdery mildew across all regions, cultivars and seasons were sulphur
(Fig. 5) and most of the balance were spread across six activity groups
(Table 4). The seasonal variation in the proportion of the fungicide
program within a region that was comprised of sulphur was relatively
small compared to the variation between regions and the proportion of
fungicides that was made up with sulphur did not appear change sys­
tematically between seasons. The inland irrigated regions and McLaren
Vale tended to favour the use of sulphur with at least 25% of growers
only using sulphur in their powdery mildew management program. The
use of other actives was favoured in the cooler regions, especially Tas­
mania and the Yarra Valley. The Barossa Valley also used relatively little
sulphur, which contrasted with the other warm premium regions.
Overall, there were very few occurrences of incorrect fungicide use
according to the CropLife guidelines, with approximately 550 occasions
where the recommended number of applications per block, per season,
was exceeded and 450 occasions where the number of consecutive ap­
plications of the same fungicide chemical family were exceeded. This

5
M. Essling et al. Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

commonly exceeded was demethylation inhibitors (Group 3, no more

than two consecutive applications or three applications per season
(Essling and Lord, 2018)), followed by quinone outside inhibitors

Fig. 3. The relationship between the sum of the evapotranspiration for the
thirty days following the separation of the first leaf (E-L 7) and the mean
number of active constituents applied per season to each management unit,
across seven seasons and fifteen Australian GI Regions: Black circle – Tasmania;
Fig. 4. The mean number of active constituents applied to control powdery
orange circle – Yarra Valley; grey circle – Adelaide Hills; yellow circle – Riv­
mildew at each phenological stage (total number applied divided by the fifteen
erland; blue circle – Wrattonbully; green circle – Murray Darling; black square –
Australian GI Regions, eight cultivars and seven seasons (approximately 840
Padthaway; orange square – Swan Hill; grey square – Coonawarra; yellow
combinations)), plotted against the phenological stage when the application
square – Langhorne Creek; blue square – Riverina; green square – Clare Valley;
was made. The EL stages above EL34 (white circle) were excluded from the
black triangle – Barossa Valley; orange triangle – Margaret River; and grey
calculation relating the phenological stage to the number of fungicide appli­
triangle – McLaren Vale (statistics are presented in Table 2). (For interpretation
cations as from this stage fungicide application decreases so that withholding
of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
periods can be met. The error bars represent one standard error calculated from
Web version of this article.)
the GI region, growth stage and season combination described above. The
relationship between the phenological stage and number of fungicide applica­
represents 0.15–0.19% of the approximately 295,000 fungicide appli­ tions was significant (Number of active constituents applied at each pheno­
cations analysed. The chemical family where both the number of ap­ logical stage = 0.195 * Phenological stage + 2.49, r2 = 0.54, P < 0.001, n
plications per season and number of consecutive applications was most = 26).

Table 3
The average timing and growth stage of the first and last fungicide applications, the average interval between fungicide applications and the time between the first and
last fungicide applications across geographic indicator regions.
Geographic Date of first Date of last Length of fungicide Average interval Growth stage when first Growth stage when last
indicator region fungicide fungicide application season between fungicide fungicide application fungicide application
application (date) application (date) (days) applications (days) made (E-L stage) made (E-L stage)

Tasmania 4-10 (26-9, 11-10, 9-2 (3-2, 16-2, 9.3) 118.5 (119, 141, 12.9 (11.7, 13.3, 0.06) 7.6 (4.5, 9, 0.02) 33.8 (34, 35, 1.67)
1.2) 6.98)
Yarra Valley 17-9 (6–9, 25-9, 5-1 (21-12, 20-1, 111.6 (108, 124, 12.4 (10.9, 13.8, 0.06) 5.2 (3, 9, 0.02) 33.8 (31, 35, 1.69)
1.3) 9.6) 7.16)
Margaret River 28-9 (13-9, 12-10, 27-1 (6-1, 27-1, 112.4 (91, 128, 5.07) 12.6 (10.4, 15.2, 0.04) 7.4 (4, 12, 0.01) 34.5 (33, 35, 1.44)
0.8) 7.0)
Adelaide Hills 2-10 (25-9, 13-10, 10-1 (5-1, 17-1, 105.3 (90, 112, 3.83) 13.6 (11.9, 14.8, 0.02) 8.2 (5, 12, 0.01) 33.2 (33, 34, 1.26)
0.6) 5.4)
Riverland 21-9 (13-9, 29-9, 19-12 (13-12, 27- 91.5 (81, 102, 3.88) 12.7 (11.4, 13.8, 0.02) 8.7 (7, 11, 0.01) 33.5 (33, 35, 1.27)
0.6) 12, 5.5)
Wrattonbully 28-9 (18-9, 7–10, 15-1 (3-1, 31-1, 106.8 (100, 128, 16.0 (13.8, 17.3, 0.04) 8.2 (7, 11, 0.01) 33.4 (29, 34, 1.46)
0.9) 7.2) 5.22)
Murray Darling 24-9 (15-9, 6–10, 20-12 (9–12, 30-12, 89.6 (74, 100, 2.78) 13.4 (11.9, 15.7, 0.01) 7.0 (4, 11, 0.00) 33.4 (33, 35, 1.09)
0.4) 4.0)
Padthaway 23-9 (13-9, 4–10, 20-12 (16-12, 4-1, 98.1 (71, 102, 4.70) 14.4 (12.8, 16.6, 0.03) 9.7 (9, 13, 0.01) 32.9 (33, 34, 1.39)
0.8) 6.5)
Swan Hill 14-9 (7–9, 19-9, 5-1 (22-12, 19-1, 95.2 (90, 107, 5.71) 14.0 (12.9, 15.1, 0.04) 5.0 (3, 7, 0.01) 32.9 (31, 35, 1.52)
1.0) 7.8)
Coonawarra 16-10 (8–10, 18-10, 12-1 (5-1, 24-1, 95.2 (81, 98, 5.52) 15.2 (11.9, 15.6, 0.04) 9.1 (7, 11, 0.01) 32.3 (31, 35, 1.50)
0.9) 7.5)
McLaren Vale 25-9 (14-9, 5–10, 31-12 (19-12, 12-1, 88.1 (80, 111, 3.55) 14.3 (12.4, 15.3, 0.02) 10.3 (9, 13, 0.01) 32.7 (32, 35, 1.22)
0.5) 5.1)
Langhorne Creek 12-10 (4–10, 16-10, 18-12 (15-12, 21- 82.9 (71, 88, 3.97) 14.4 (12.2, 16.0, 0.03) 10.4 (9, 12, 0.01) 32.5 (29, 32, 1.28)
0.6) 12, 5.6)
Riverina 16-9 (6–9, 22-9, 6-12 (26-11, 16-12, 81.0 (69, 95, 3.26) 15.6 (14.4, 20.3, 0.02) 7.1 (4, 9, 0.00) 32.6 (31, 33, 1.30)
0.4) 4.1)
Clare Valley 7-10 (29-9, 16-10, 26-12 (11–12, 16-1, 76.0 (63, 98, 5.07) 15.3 (14.2, 19.4, 0.04) 10.6 (8, 14, 0.01) 31.7 (31, 34, 1.44)
0.8) 7.0)
Barossa Valley 4-10 (27-9, 15-10, 11-12 (1–12, 21-12, 77.8 (52, 85, 3.11) 15.7 (13.5, 19.1, 0.02) 10.6 (11, 14, 0.00) 31.9 (29, 33, 1.14)
0.4) 4.5)

Notes: Data in brackets represents the upper and lower quartiles and the Fishers LSD 5% respectively. The Fischers LSD was calculated across cultivars and seasons,
comparisons can be made within columns. As there was no data collected for the Riverina in 2012, the analysis was completed twice; once excluding the Riverina and
then excluding the 2012 vintage so that all contrasts could be included.

6
M. Essling et al. Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

Fig. 5. The effect of season and region on the proportion of powdery mildew fungicides that are sulphur based in Australian vineyards. From left to right, 2012 – dark
blue; 2013 – orange; 2014 – grey; 2015 – yellow; 2016 – light blue; 2017 – green; and 2018 – white. Coloured columns represent the interquartile range; the central
horizontal bar within each column is the mean and the error bars are 5% Fischer’s LSDs. As there was no data collected for the Riverina in 2012, the analysis was
completed twice; once excluding the Riverina and then excluding the 2012 vintage so that all contrasts could be included. (For interpretation of the references to
colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

(Group 11, no consecutive applications unless co-formulated, no more
than two consecutive co-formulated applications or two applications per
season) (Table 4). In contrast, phenyl-acetamide (Group U6, no more
than two consecutive applications or two applications per season
(Essling and Lord, 2018)) and aryl-phenyl-ketone (Group 50, no more
than two consecutive applications or four applications per season
(Essling and Lord, 2018)) fungicides were very rarely applied more often
than recommended.
4. Discussion
4.1. Regional and seasonal variation in fungicide programs
The trends in the number of active constituents applied per man­
agement unit in each season varied as expected between regions. The
cool and wetter regions applied significantly more active constituents
than the inland irrigated or the warm premium regions (Fig. 1a). The
number of active constituents applied was influenced by seasonal con­
ditions across the South Eastern quadrant of Australia where most of
these wine regions are located (all except Margaret River). The 2017
vintage was generally considered challenging from a disease perspective
(Coulter et al., 2017). A wet start to the season provided vines with
ample water and resulted in rapid rates of growth and dense canopies
followed by mild and overcast/cloudy conditions that favoured the
development of powdery mildew (Magarey et al., 2000). Combined,
these factors were reflected in an increase in the number of active
constituents applied in 2017 in most regions (Fig. 1b). The Yarra Valley
experienced high disease pressure, with persistent rainfall during
December 2017 (Coulter et al., 2018). This resulted in the application of
a higher numbers of active constituents during the 2018 season. Wet
conditions stimulate rapidly growing and dense canopies which are
conducive to the development of fungal diseases including powdery
mildew (Austin and Wilcox, 2012), which may have been targeted in
conjunction with applications for downy mildew in response to weather
events (Magarey et al., 2000).
Our results showed that the highest number of active constituents
were applied in the cooler regions with higher rainfall. These figures
were still markedly lower than in Burgundy, where the average was
approximately 16 per annum (Zito et al., 2018); this likely reflects the
humid conditions that are prevalent over much of Burgundy during the
growing season. The average number of fungicide applications for
powdery mildew control that we observed in Australia was more similar
to Californian wine regions. Californian vineyards on the North Coast
(primarily the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, mild), Central Coast (San Luis
Obispo, Mediterranean) and the Central Valley (arid) received an
average of approximately 9, 15 and 8 fungicide applications per year,
respectively (Lybbert et al., 2016). Some regions (especially the Barossa
and Clare Valleys) made a remarkably low average number of applica­
tions of active constituents in some seasons (Fig. 1b). The lower quartile
was only three applications per block and when the data was examined
on an individual block basis, some vineyards receive only one or two
applications per year (data not shown). Grape growers in the arid
climate of Eastern Washington have also reported that they are able to
manage powdery mildew with three fungicide applications, even in
challenging seasons (Moyer et al., 2018). Magarey et al. (2000) sug­
gested that if the powdery mildew is controlled through the application
of fungicides prior to flowering then the inoculum in a vineyard can be
depleted, further reducing fungicide requirements.
4.2. Variation in fungicide program with cultivar
Differences in susceptibility to powdery mildew between cultivars is
well established (Doster and Schnathorst, 1985; Wicks et al., 1993) and
if fungicide programs matched susceptibility then there could be savings
in economic and environmental costs and resistance risk (Doster and
Schnathorst, 1985). While many regions tailored their fungicide pro­
gram to match the cultivars being treated, surprisingly in some of the
regions there was very little variation between the cultivars in the
number of active constituents applied. During a high disease pressure
season (the 1992 vintage) in the Barossa Valley a range of cultivars were
managed with a fungicide program that included five applications of
sulphur and one of triadimenol. The powdery mildew infection was

7
M. Essling et al. Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369

Table 4
The number of applications and the number consecutive applications of fungicide groups with single site activity per seasons, averaged
across eight cultivars and fifteen Geographical Indicator regions. The multisite fungicides (primarily Sulphur) were excluded from this
analysis.

Notes: Fungicides are categorized as per the Crop Life Australia powdery mildew management strategy for grapes, and the values
highlighted in grey exceed the number of recommended applications. When consecutive applications occurred across multiple seasons
they were recorded against the season when the final application was made. LSD is a Fishers LSD at 5% for the analysis across seasons.
a
Represents a single application without a second consecutive application of the same resistance management group.

assessed as nil on the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, very light on
Pinot Gris, light on Semillon and on the first Shiraz assessment, mod­
erate on the second Shiraz assessment and Sauvignon Blanc, severe on
Pinot Noir and very severe on Chardonnay (Wicks et al., 1993). In the
regions where significant differences between the cultivars were
observed (Fig. 1a; and for the average across all regions, data not shown)
the number of active constituents applied aligned quite closely with
these observations. The one anomaly was Pinot Gris which was reported
by Wicks et al. (1993) as having a very light infection but often received
a similar quantity of active constituents to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Given that Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are very closely related (Regner
et al., 2000) the error may be in the initial observations. The mean
number of active constituents applied varied more between seasons
(Fig. 1b) than it did between cultivars (Fig. 1a). This coupled with the
very consistent (both mean and interquartile range) fungicide applica­
tion patterns across cultivars in some regions and suggests that fungicide
application programs that are more tailored to specific cultivars are
possible and may increase production efficiencies; but surveys or in­
terviews of growers would be required to confirm this.
4.3. Evapotranspiration and fungicide use
A number of epidemiological models have been developed for
powdery mildew; most of which aim to aid growers with decisions about
the timing of fungicide applications (Caffi et al., 2012; Carisse et al.,
2009; Gubler et al., 1999). Moyer et al. (2016) observed that these
models often do not relate well to the severity of powdery mildew epi­
demics in the cool and humid climate of New York and that pan

8
M. Essling et al.
evaporation or evapotranspiration in the period up to and including
bloom were better predictors. In addition to wind, evapotranspiration
integrates all of the parameters that have been shown to impact on the
development of powdery mildew including solar radiation (Austin and
Wilcox, 2012), vapour pressure deficit (Carroll and Wilcox, 2003) and
temperature (Delp, 1954). On the basis that growers would determine
their fungicide programs (especially the applications beyond three rec­
ommended for early in the season in Australia) at least in part on the
observations of developing powdery mildew epidemics, we investigated
the relationship between evapotranspiration and the number of active
constituents applied per season. Although pan evaporation was a better
predictor of epidemic severity (Moyer et al., 2016), evapotranspiration
was used as it is commonly calculated by weather stations and is forecast
as an aid to irrigation scheduling.
Evapotranspiration was aggregated for the thirty days post E-L 7
(approximately E-L 17; 12 leaves separated) as this provided a good
prediction of the number of active constituents applied in most regions
(Table 2) and the timing encompassed the three fungicide applications
that are recommended at the start of the growing season (Emmett et al.,
1997a, 1997b). This means that an estimate of potential disease pressure
can be made to coincide with decisions on the balance of the powdery
mildew fungicide program. If evapotranspiration is low (higher disease
pressure), then more diligent monitoring could be conducted and further
fungicide applications scheduled; or if the disease pressure remains low
(evapotranspiration is high), then fewer (if any) additional applications
would be needed.
When the data was pooled across all of the regions, evapotranspi­
ration for the 30 days post E-L7 appeared to be a good predictor of the
number of active constituents applied and may reflect the overall disease
pressure (Fig. 3). The number of active constituents applied could serve
as a proxy for disease severity as direct assessments are unavailable. In
order for this assumption to be valid we need to assume that growers
only apply enough fungicide to control powdery mildew, in order to
maximise profits (Lescot et al., 2014); and that disease epidemics do not
regularly occur. The criteria for the acceptance of disease affected fruit is
also very low in Australia; no more than 3% incidence (Petrie, 2017),
therefore fungicide programs are likely to be very responsive to disease
outbreaks as they will have a severe financial impact on growers.
Most of the warm premium and inland irrigated regions showed a
strong relationship (often stronger than for the national relationship),
between evapotranspiration and the number of active constituents
applied (Table 2). In a similar manner, in Burgundy, France, the May
and June average monthly temperatures were negatively correlated and
the April and May monthly rainfall positively correlated with the
number of powdery mildew fungicide applications (Zito et al., 2018).
The strong relationships between evapotranspiration and the number of
active constituents used supports the development of a regionally based
system to warn of high disease pressure – using a regionally based sys­
tem also allows for variation in phenology between regions to be easily
accounted for. However, the four regions with the highest fungicide use
(and the coolest and wettest conditions) showed very little response to
environmental conditions. Coupled with their relatively low use of
sulphur (Fig. 5), this suggests that powdery mildew is controlled as part
of a fungicide program that also targets botrytis (often prophylactic,
Jacometti et al. (2010)) and downy mildew (weather event based,
Magarey et al. (2002)). Therefore, a regionally based warning system
may have little benefit in these regions.
The establishment of a relationship between evapotranspiration and
the number of active constituents applied to manage powdery mildew
also allows the effect of the environment to be accounted for when
benchmarking fungicide programs between regions. The inclusion of
evapotranspiration as a covariate did not obscure the impact of season
on the number of active constituents applied per region (Table 2). This
suggests that other factors besides seasonal variation are influencing the
differences in fungicide programs between regions. While the data
available does not allow these factors to be identified, they are likely to
9
Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369
include regional differences in canopy management and the use of a
single active constituent to control multiple diseases (as discussed
above) and the cost of purchasing and applying the fungicides relative to
the value of the crop.
4.4. Timing of fungicide programs
The higher numbers of fungicide applications in the cooler regions
were a function of a longer application season and a shorter interval
between applications (Table 3). Short application intervals are also
important in regions that have rapidly developing canopies, as new
growth requires fungicide protection. The need to quickly develop large
and dense canopies to support a larger crop may be the driver behind the
shorter application intervals (and higher application numbers) seen in
the inland irrigated regions such as the Riverland and the Murray
Darling. The Yarra Valley was the only region that made their first
application, on average, prior to the recommended phenostage of the
first leaf separated from the shoot tip (E-L 7) (Table 3) (Emmett et al.,
1997a, 1997b). Some of the regions did not, on average, start applica­
tions until after E-L 10 (3–4 leaves separated) which is over a week later
than is recommended by Emmett et al. (1997a, 1997b) and contributes
to poor fungicide timing across the entire season (see below). Only the
Margaret River, on average, made applications after the berries were
hard and green (E-L 34); however other regions had more than 25% of
blocks in this category (Table 3). The next phenostage is veraison (E-L
35), which indicates the start of the ripening process. Spray applications
beyond this point may be of limited value because by this stage, grape
berries are immune to powdery mildew infection (Gadoury et al., 2003).
In addition, sprays within 30 days of harvest are discouraged by
Australian wineries (Essling and Lord, 2018) due to the risk of exceeding
maximum residue limits and potential impact that the residues of active
constituents may have on fermentation (Conner, 1983) or the produc­
tion of off aromas (Kwasniewski et al., 2014).
The recommendation for powdery mildew management in Australia
has focused on three fungicide applications prior to flowering (nomi­
nally at 2, 4, and 6 weeks post budburst) to control inoculum and pre­
vent the development of an epidemic (Emmett et al., 1997a, 1997b). Hot
and dry conditions during summer also inhibit the development of
powdery mildew (Carroll and Wilcox, 2003; Delp, 1954), hence man­
agement during spring is critical. This is confirmed by the powdery
mildew development model of Sall (1980), where control earlier in the
season was predicted to be more effective than allowing an epidemic to
develop. Analysis of the fungicide application records suggest that
growers are not following this recommendation (Fig. 4). Instead of
applying fungicides evenly across the early stages of development, with
a decline from the end of flowering (E-L 26), the application of fungi­
cides increases with advancing phenology up until when the berries are
hard and green (E-L 33). The cost of not maintaining control of powdery
mildew can be loss of fruit quality to the point that it is rejected by the
winery. As growers often apply pesticides as a form of insurance
(Mumford and Norton, 1984) and may lack confidence that their early
season sprays have sufficiently controlled the disease, preferring to
continue to spray at regular intervals throughout the season. The anal­
ysis of the phenology data that underpins these conclusions is somewhat
problematic, in that the phenostages were selected on the basis of their
distinctiveness and ease of description (Coombe, 1995) and therefore
the time period encompassed by each phenostage varies (Sadras and
Moran, 2013). Grape berries rapidly gain ontogenic resistance to pow­
dery mildew after fruit set (Gadoury et al., 2003) and while a disease
free canopy needs to be maintained in order to provide photosynthates
to ripen the fruit (Pool et al., 1984), this is an additional reason why the
fungicide applications need to be focused earlier in the season. Grower
training around the focusing the fungicide programs early in the season
offers the opportunity to improve program efficiency especially as
empirical trials also suggest additional end of program fungicide ap­
plications did not improve the powdery mildew control (Moyer et al.,
M. Essling et al.
2018).
4.5. Composition of fungicide programs and resistance management
On average, only a small proportion of fungicide applications (9% on
average) contained multiple active constituents and in some regions
over 75% of fungicide applications contained only one active constitu­
ent. The increasing use of combinations of active constituents in many of
the regions over the course of this analysis (Fig. 2) may have been due to
changes in the recommendations for resistance management. In 2013,
the recommendation by CropLife on the use of quinone outside in­
hibitors was changed so that if they had been used routinely over many
seasons, they needed to be combined with other activity groups. Prod­
ucts that contain both quinone outside inhibitors and demethylation
inhibitors have been released in response to these recommendations.
Further examination of the raw data suggested that many growers were
using sulphur as the second active constituent (data not shown), most
likely as this is the least expensive registered option available.
The Australian wine industry relies on sulphur as the primary
chemical control for the management of powdery mildew; this is un­
surprising given its relatively low cost. The proportion used varies be­
tween regions, but it makes up a relatively consistent proportion of the
fungicides applied within each region (Fig. 5). In efficacy trials sulphur
has also been shown to be adequate and equivalent to programs con­
taining synthetic fungicides, even in cooler regions such as the Adelaide
Hills, as long as high application rates and good coverage was main­
tained (Wicks and Hitch, 2001). However, in other trials the inclusion of
a demethylation inhibitor fungicide has been shown to improve the
effectiveness of some sulphur based programs (Emmett et al., 1997a).
Regions that had either high or low fungicide use appeared to favour the
use of synthetic fungicides. In the cooler and wetter regions, this is likely
to be due to the substitution of sulphur for synthetic fungicides that are
registered to control other diseases such as botrytis or downy mildew. A
similar consistency in fungicide use patterns within regions has been
observed in vineyards in California, where growers on the central coast
used the highest proportion of sulphur (94%) in their spray programs
compared to 88% of applications in the Central Valley and 79% of ap­
plications on the North Coast (Lybbert et al., 2016). These authors were
also able to detect changes in use patterns depending on weather con­
ditions. For example when powdery mildew pressure was higher,
growers in the Central Valley would move from a sulphur based program
to using more synthetic fungicides, whereas in the other regions growers
selected different synthetic products (Lybbert et al., 2016). The seasonal
variation in the proportion of sulphur used in fungicide programs,
although significant, was surprisingly small relative to the difference
between regions (Fig. 5). The 2017 vintage recorded cooler and overcast
conditions in spring and higher disease pressure (Coulter et al., 2017),
but this wasn’t matched by a dramatic shift away from the use of sulphur
based fungicides, only the number of applications increased signifi­
cantly (Fig. 1a).
Virtually all the fungicide programs analysed complied with the
CropLife recommendations (Essling and Lord, 2018) to prevent the
development of fungicide resistance (Table 4). There are very few re­
ports on the compliance of fungicide programs to resistance guidelines
in grapes or other crops. For wheat in New Zealand, guidelines on the
application of demethylation inhibitors was exceeded by one-third and
for quinone outside inhibitors it was exceeded by 11% of wheat growers
by area. In the same study most barley growers conformed to the
guidelines (van Toor et al., 2013). Potato growers in Canterbury, New
Zealand also generally adhered to fungicide use recommendations in
order to avoid the development of resistance (van Toor et al., 2008). One
of the main reasons for the strong compliance with the resistance
management recommendations in grape growing is that the spray pro­
grams rely on the use of sulphur (Fig. 5) which has been assessed as
having a very low risk for the development of fungicide resistance and
can therefore be applied repeatedly during the season.
10
Crop Protection 139 (2021) 105369
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and wine­
makers through their investment body Wine Australia, with matching
funds from the Australian Government. Ms Barbara Hall (South
Australian Research and Development Institute) and Ms Elizabeth Riley
(Vitbit Pty Ltd) provided valuable feedback on the interpretation of the
analysis of the fungicide programs. The AWRI, the SARDI and the Uni­
versity of Adelaide are members of the Wine Innovation Cluster in
Adelaide. The GrapeWeb spray diary data presented was provided by
AgSmart.
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