Mine aren't getting the Sevin washed off because the leaves are blocking direct rain. I plan on hitting them with the hose when it gets closer to harvest.

You should stop spraying according to the spray's PHI. I have only had one time I thought I needed fungicide this year. I can't help there.

I've never had bees go after any fruit so I can't help there either.

What varieties are your grapes?

Reliance - red
Jupiter - blue/purple
Sweet Seduction - yellow/white

Whenever I buy non-organic berries, cherries, and plums, I wash them in an ounce each of vodka and cider vinegar in a quart of water and then rinse them. It seems to get the oily waxy residue off grocery store fruits that can't be peeled. I buy the cheapest vodka available to keep just for washing fruit. There is a fruit and vegetable wash called "Fit", but it is sometimes hard to find in some grocery stores. It is said to remove 98% of residue and kill 99% of bacteria as well. It is made of water, citric acid, grain alcohol, and detergent.

I've found it cheaper to buy a cheap vodka and add it and vinegar to water to rinse fruit and lettuce.

I don't mean to on an organic soapbox, but I find that an aspirin tablet with a tablespoon each of chopped garlic, baking soda, and olive oil mixed in 2 gallons of water works well as a fungicide. It keeps away blackspot on my roses and tomatoes. I live in East Tenn were the summers have been fairly dry for a few years, so it might not be enough if I lived somewhere with lots of rain, like the Northwest. I spray following each rain, which sadly has only been about 5 times this summer.

I don't think the bees are really eating the grapes. Birds are likely eating the grapes, and bees are following to drink the juice that drips from them. Bird netting should solve the problem.

Please don't spray the bees, we desperately need all the bees we have left in North America.

This might sounds like an odd question, but are you sure that it is spray residue that you can see on the grapes? Grapes and other fruit such as blueberries and plums get a "bloom" on them - a whitish film that you can wipe off. This is a wild yeast and what makes the grapes ferment to make wine (although winemakers also add commercial yeast I think).

Try and find some unsprayed fruit to look at somewhere to compare with what you see on yours.

Fungicides will have a witholding period - a period of time in which you should not spray prior to eating. It should probably be on the packet somewhere, if not, ask the supplier you bought it from. You probably do want to wash sprayed fruit, but you don't need to wipe off the natural bloom on the grapes.

Thanks jekyll!

IÂm pretty sure what IÂm seeing is spray residue. It looks like dripping paint on the grapes and the leaves. It might be a sign that IÂm spraying too much! I think I know what you mean when you talk about the "bloom" on the grapes, but this looks different, and since I'm also seeing it on the leaves, I'm pretty sure it's spray residue.

When you guys spray, do you see the spray residue dried on the leaves and grapes?

Regarding the witholding period or PHI, my question was more along the lines of...If you plan to harvest in say late September, then can you stop spraying in say late July becuase it's too late (not enough time left) for black rot and powdery mildew to hurt the crop?

I've never seen fungicide residue on anything, but then it is very rare for me to spray fungicide. I'm in the desert and have sprayed a few grape cuttings and a nectarine tree that arrived with curl from the mail order nursery. Other than that, it is too dry for fungus.

When I've used fungicide, it didn't leave any sign that it had been sprayed; no marks, no color.

Many sprays say to spray the correct dilution until you see it running off the plants, so I suspect that you are not over-spraying.

I'd stop spraying at the withdrawal period. That should be on the package the fungicide came in.

Thanks folks. I'll try to post some pictures early next week.

As promised, here's a photo of a grape cluster speckled with what I'm calling spray residue. You can see some of it on the leaf in the background.

{{gwi:119477}}

So what's the verdict? Natural "bloom" or unnatural spray?

Looks like spray to me!! I'm sure you can wash it off when you pick the grapes. Soap, water, and a good rinse should get it off. It's not systemic, right?

Both bloom and spray.

That's what Sevin looked like on mine.
I'm approaching harvest so I took the hose out and sprayed the grape clusters, it came right off.

I do everything organic so I can't help about the spray, but, the bees are almost certainly going after fruit that was split first by some other means or the skin was broken by wind damage or a bird peck. They don't usually have the means to break through the skin on their own. Once broken, they will feed on the juice for it's sugar content. So, the bees are only going after fruit that is already damaged. There is no reason to try to get rid of them. In fact, they may be helping a little by cleaning up after the damaged fruit.

Some types of bees do indeed eat grapes, or at least drink the juice. I grow concord grapes and I always have to be careful when harvesting because there will be a few bees halfway inside a grape chowing down. Boggled me the first time I found one - I was like, OMG this bunch of grapes is buzzing. o.O The bees don't do a lot of damage though (unlike the grape moths x_X). Possibly the bees only are interested in grapes which already have the skin broken.

Man read the label it will tell you what is he PHI. I wait the number of days the label said before harvesting then give the fruit a good wash in the kitchen sink. These fungicides are weak and safe if you wait the number of days in the PHI. We American consume lots of fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico. Mexico has no environmental law compared to us and who knows what they spray on their stuff.

I disagree with the fact that bees only go after broken grapes because I saw bees eat all of the grapes off of my three grape vines :(