Distribution of Pests on Vitis riparia in Sandy Soils of the South-Western Ontario

John Kelly,Helen Fisher,Toktam Taghavi,Carol Singleton,Alireza Rahemi,Adam Dale,Adam Bonnycastle

doi:10.5539/jps.v4n1p21

Abstract

Vitis riparia (Michaux) is native to North America and tolerates the local weather and soil conditions of south-western Ontario in Canada. A survey was done on V. riparia to elicit the distribution of pests on the species in central south-western Ontario. Eight hundred and forty four genotypes of V. riparia were observed throughout the sandy soils of five counties in Ontario (Brant, Elgin, Middlesex, Norfolk and Oxford). The location of the selected vines was labeled in the Geographic Information System (GIS). The ArcGIS program was used to make maps of the distribution of the wild grape pests, Phylloxera, Japanese beetle, Filbert gallmaker, Cane Filbert gallmaker, Tumid Filbert gallmaker and Tube Filbert gallmaker midges in those areas. The results show that the density of pests on V. riparia is more severe in some areas than others. Phylloxera and Japanese beetle were the major pests observed. Phylloxera was most prevalent and Japanese beetle least prevalent in Elgin County. The gallmaker midges were found in low densities throughout the area. The distribution of Phylloxera could be related to the soil type, and the distribution of Japanese beetle and Tumid gall midge to the land use. With Phylloxera, it appears that they prefer poor drainage soils which do not dry out readily. Whereas, Japanese beetle and Tumid gall midge prefer undisturbed soils where they can overwinter successfully.

Highlights

The River Bank Grape or Frost Grape (Vitis riparia Michaux) is a dioecious wild grape (Kevan et al, 1984) native to North America that is found throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba in Canada (Darbyshire, 2003).In Ontario, V. riparia is a host for many pests, such as Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch), Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman), Filbert gallmaker midge (Schizomyia coryloides Walsh and Riley), Cane gallmaker midge (Ampeloglypter sesostris LeConte), Tumid gallmaker midge (Janetiella brevicauda Felt.-Johnson) and Tube gallmaker midge (Cecidomyia viticola Osten-Sacken).Phylloxera is an endemic pest in eastern North America and attacks both wild and cultivated grapes
The highest proportion of genotypes infected by Phylloxera occurred in Elgin County, whereas, it had the lowest proportion of genotypes infected with Japanese beetle
The distribution of Phylloxera, Japanese beetle and Tumid gall varied across central south western Ontario

Summary

Introduction

The River Bank Grape or Frost Grape (Vitis riparia Michaux) is a dioecious wild grape (Kevan et al, 1984) native to North America that is found throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba in Canada (Darbyshire, 2003). Japanese beetle larvae over winter in the soil, and the adults emerge in the spring to feed on foliage. Filbert gall which is caused by the gallmaker midge, rarely harm common grapes unless present in large number (Vineyard IPM Scouting Report, 2010). Cane gall caused by a midge is a very minor pest of common grapes. The Cane gallmaker overwinters as the adult stage in debris on the ground (Wold-Burkness, 2012a). Tumid gall, another midge which lay eggs within the unfolding bud or shoot tips. Caused by midges, is neither very common nor harmful to vineyards. In order to identify the distribution of the major pest species of V. riparia in south-western Ontario, V. riparia genotypes were surveyed with the hypothesis that the genotypes have equal susceptibility to pests and diseases throughout the range

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion