There are a bunch of grape diseases that you may encounter and you'll need a combination of chemicals to combat them all. To further complicate things, certain diseases can build up resistance to certain chemicals so you have to alternate your sprays during the season. Additionally, certain powerful chemicals like Manzate have a long PHI (pre harvest interval) (66 days I think), which means you have to stop using it over two months before harvest so you use that one a lot early in the season and then you switch to another type. A lot more specifics and a lot more information can be found here: http://hort.agriculture.purdue.edu/pdfs/08SprayGuide.pdf The above link is for the mid west which may be best for you, but if you do a search for "2011 Virginia Wine Grape Fungicide Spray Guideline (PDF" you should get a link to a similar guide for Virginia. (for some reason, I can't post the link here). It may be a little overwhelming at first (and even after a few years!) but the basics are: 1) start spraying early - when the leaves are just forming, 2) different diseases require different sprays, 3) to avoid resistance, you need to alternate your sprays, and 4) some sprays need to be stopped and switched mid-season because of a long PHI. That's my take anyway. Believe me, I'm no expert but I've been at it for about 4 or 5 years and each year I manage to make a horrible mistake that nearly ruins everything, but I try not to make that same mistake again! Read those spray guides and then ask more questions. One year I didn't start spraying until grapes were formed. This is WAY too late and I lost the entire crop. Another year I used Manzate too late in the season and couldn't harvest anything. Last year I made a pruning error that reduced my crop by at least 75%! I'm looking forward to my major mistake this year!! ;-) Good luck!

myk1, fairly sure the zestar is history, the bark was so hard i had to use a penknife to scratch it and check the cambium layer which was ugly brown. i will smack it around a little if for no other reason than to relieve a bit of stress as the hoofed ones stripped a gingergold yesterday. i certainly won't give up hope just yet, will wait till next year this time to sign the death certificate. any hardwood can take a year off when transplanting. if the tree is in fact dead and the rootstock survives at least i can salvage something. an earlier thread referred to this activity as a salvage operation and i subscribe to the same idea. one less hole to dig. i'm hoping for a tree not a rootstock. when this tree was planted i had bought 20 at the same time. while soaking the 1st bunch , i discovered 1 tree ( waiting it's turn in reserve) that had it's roots exposed to the weather and i believe that it may just have been this zestar. i didn't check identity in my zeal to re-wet the roots and place them back undercover to await it's soak. while not hot it probably had it's roots dried out. cats were playing in the vicinity and i think they played a part in this. as such i can't blame the nursery as it was my fault or the cats that this poor little tree didn't make it. but i'm not giving up hope just yet ! regards, wildlifeman

Season is over. I sprayed my grape vines 5 times. I have good crop this year.

Here's some info on what EXEL is and what makes it work. Phosphorous Acid Fungicides Explained by John Hartman and Kenny Seebold, Extension Plant Pathologists Kentucky fruit and vegetable growers may have noticed that phosphorous acid has been listed for management of several fruit diseases in recent editions of the commercial tree fruit and small fruit spray guides and management of several vegetable diseases on recent product labels. Some County Extension Agents and growers have been curious to know how they work. Parts of the following material was adapted from an insightful article written by Annemiek Schilder, Michigan State University Plant Pathologist, and was published in the Michigan State University Fruit Crop Advisory Team Alert, Vol. 20, No. 5, May 10, 2005. Phosphorous acid fungicides Recently, a number of new fungicides that have phosphorous acid as the active ingredient have come on the market. Other names sometimes used for this group are phosphonates or phosphites. Commercial products in this group may include ProPhyt, Phostrol® and Agri-Fos®. Aliette® (fosetyl-Al), an older fungicide, is the prototype for this group of fungicides. However, the long-standing patent on Aliette® had prevented similar fungicides from being developed until recently. In Australia, where the patent did not apply, growers have been using the phosphorous acid fungicides for over a decade. Phosphorous acid is not fertilizer. The term "phosphorous acid" should not be confused with phosphoric acid or phosphorus (P), a fertilizer component. In fertilizers, P is normally found in the form of phosphoric acid (H3PO4), which readily disassociates to release hydrogen phosphate (HPO4-2) and dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4 - ). Both of these ions may be taken up by the plant and are mobile once inside the plant. Phosphorous acid is H3PO3. A single letter difference in the name of a chemical compound can make a major difference in its properties. Phosphorous acid releases the phosphonate ion (HPO3 2; also called phosphite) upon disassociation. Phosphonate is easily taken up and translocated inside the plant. Phosphorous acid does not get converted into phosphate, which is the primary source of P for plants. Because phosphorous acid and its derivatives do not get metabolized in plants, they are fairly stable and probably contribute little or nothing to P nutritional needs of the plants. Some researchers have investigated the ability of phosphorous acid to act as a nutrient source for plant growth and found that P deficiency symptoms developed with phosphorous acid as the sole source of P. This means that although phosphorous acid can control diseases, it is not a substitute for P fertilization. The inverse is also true: phosphate is an excellent source of P for plant growth, but is unable to control diseases other than improving the general health of the crop. So applying high amounts of P fertilizer will not work as a disease control measure. Diseases managed with phosphorous acid. Researchers have found that phosphorous acid fungicides are especially effective against Oomycete pathogens, such as Phytophthora, Pythium, and downy mildews in a number of crops. Our fruit spray guides list Phytophthora collar rot and root rot of tree fruits, blueberries, and brambles; strawberry red stele and leather rot; and grape downy mildew as targets for phosphorous acid fungicides. Phosphorous acid is labeled for use on brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower); cucurbits; edible legumes; Solanaceous crops (eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato, and tobacco); onions; and a number of leafy vegetables for management of diseases caused by Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Fusarium spp. Downy mildews of these crops are also listed on product labels. Materials containing phosphorous acid, in general, have performed best against Phytophthora blight and downy mildews. Preventive applications were more effective in reducing season-long severity of disease than those applied after disease onset. Phosphorous acid has a direct and possibly an indirect effect on these pathogens. It inhibits a particular metabolic process (oxidative phosphorylation). In addition, some evidence suggests that phosphorous acid has an indirect effect by stimulating the plants natural defense response against pathogen attack. This probably explains the much broader spectrum of activity observed in many fungicide efficacy trials. In fruit crops, it has been found, for instance, that ProPhyt had efficacy against downy mildew, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and black rot (but not much against powdery mildew) in grapes. There is also evidence of activity of these compounds against anthracnose in blueberries. The phosphonate ion is highly systemic and fairly stable in plants. The systemic activity allows them to be applied as foliar fungicides for prevention of Phytophthora and Pythium root rots. They may also display some curative activity. In general, applications every 14 days seem to be effective in grapes, but follow label directions. These fungicides are sold as solutions of potassium and/or sodium salts of phosphorous acid. To compare them, one should look at the phosphorous acid equivalent, which should be listed on the label. Fungicide precautions. Phosphorous acid fungicide prices range from about $25 to $35 per gallon, and the application rate ranges from 2 to 5 pt/ acre ($6.25 to $22 per acre, depending on the product and rate). Under high disease pressure, higher rates may need to be used and spray intervals tightened. These fungicides are formulated in salt form, so care must be taken not to exceed a certain concentration, as crop injury may result. In addition, if the concentration is too high, the pH may become so low that in tank mixes with copper products (particularly copper hydroxide such as Kocide), too much copper will become available and result in crop injury. I just ordered some AgriFos and intend on using it as a foliar. As you can see from the above article it's hard to explain the greening up of Ray's tomato plants and more research is needed. What interested me in EXEL is it's organic nature and it would make an excellent partner when teamed up with Actinovate. Using Actinovate as a subsoil fungicide and EXEL as an foliar fungicide that would have a faster knock-down effect on fungus and it's systemic properties. My only concern with EXEL is as a soil drench as I do not know the effect it will have on the microorganisms in the rhizophere, ie mycorrhiza. Further study is required. Ray definitely like you hand held electric sprayer. I bought something similar from the spray-n-grow folks but it had a quart container that was separate from the spray head and connected with a tube. Get yourself some NIMH batteries with a charger rather than using alkaline batteries and it will save you a few bucks in the long run. I would like to thank Ray for his interest in testing some of the products I have mentioned to him. It helps us all to have someone test these products in an unbiased manner and report the results for everybody to see. You are doing us all a great service. Ami