A Retirement and the Overuse of a Herbicide Seal A Wineyard’s Fate
Scientists at the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station on Valley Road have studied the cultivation of wine grapes in the high desert for over 25 years. According to its About page, the “Federal government established the state Agricultural Experiment Station network through the Hatch Act of 1887. Experiment stations were established to ensure that agricultural research geared to specific geographic regions would be conducted throughout the United States.”
But now that a co-founder and longtime manager of the vineyard, a professor in UNR’s Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, Grant Cramer is retiring, the vineyard chapter is closing. The two acre plot of wine grapes is being removed for future projects. This decision also comes on the heels of the alleged overapplication of the wrong herbicide in recent years, Dicamba, which severely damaged the vineyard, and spread from one acre into another.
It has also led to questions, including from Our Town Reno, about whether new experiments will move toward organic growing instead, or whether the use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and other chemical products will persist.
“The Ag station director [Chris Pritsos] decided to decommission the vineyard,” said Jill Moe, the interim director and education program coordinator for the Desert Farming Initiative, which is also part of the Station “and it’s going to be transitioned into a cover crop.” A cover crop is grown between other plantings to regenerate the soil and reduce erosion.
There are concerns about the plot’s future now and whether an opportunity to turn to organic farming is being missed.
An Experiment with Many Phases
The vineyards were planted in several rows with three varieties per row with the idea being to learn about which varieties did well in the harsh northern Nevada climate. The vineyard was managed on and off over the past two decades by researchers, students, and volunteers.
“Volunteers did a lot of the work on it originally,” explained Moe. “It’s been through several phases.”
Recently that included the application of the wrong herbicide in the wrong amounts, according to Cramer.
“I had verbally instructed [the field manager] on how to use RoundUp,” explained Cramer “and instead he used a different herbicide,” namely Dicamba which has been shown to spread to nearby fields. And, according to Cramer, this is what happened.
In his interview with Our Town Reno, Cramer said the vineyard suffered almost immediately from the over-application in 2015. The following season, signs of poisoning were noticed in the northern acre, which was not treated with Dicamba. Because of this, he feels the vineyard is no longer in a state worth preserving.
Moe explained the two acre vineyard was intended for research and that given current circumstances it is too challenging and demanding to continue growing grapes there for production.
Alynn Delisle, a winemaker at Nevada Sunset Winery, holding up one of the limited bottles of wine made from the UNR grapes from the 2020 growing season, which was the last harvest from this vineyard.
What Comes Next for Wine in Northern Nevada and the UNR Plot?
“Really valuable research did occur from that vineyard,” Moe said. “Grant Cramer published research papers from the results of those trials and taught winemaking classes.”
Cramer also started a YouTube video series as a way to preserve what he has learned and archive the lessons and knowledge the vineyard has yielded.
“I think it added a lot,” explained Alynn Delisle, the co-owner of Nevada Sunset Winery “because it got people, especially in Reno, involved and it showed you can grow grapes in Nevada.”
There are current restrictions, however, in addition to climate challenges. Nevada wineries are required by law to have a minimum of 25% Nevada-grown grapes in their wine after selling a thousand cases from their winery.
“This is what I would like to see happen: a state-of-the-art commercial demonstration vineyard,” said Moe of her hopes for the future, so the experiment can live on elsewhere. “Go with the varieties we know do well in this climate and really take it to the next step,” said Moe.
“We have a real interest in serving our stakeholders,” explained Chris Pritsos, the Director of the UNR Experimental Agriculture Station. “What we need is stakeholders to step up, like they do in all the other states, and help us do this work.”
What also remains to be seen is what will replace the vineyards in the long run, and if it will be chemical-based planting, or if that opportunity has already been missed due to current work on the soil.