Program areas at National Grape Research Alliance
The National Grape Research Alliance (ngra) seeks to advance Research to improve the quality and competitiveness of the american Grape industries, including wine grapes, table grapes, juice grapes and raisins. Ngra-supported Research projects involve multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, multi-state collaboration, and target issues that no single Grape sector could adequately address on its own. Our efforts are focused in four theme areas: 1) natural resources and environment, 2) integrated production systems, 3) genetics and grapevine improvement, and 4) extension and outreach.ngra executed a strategic planning process throughout 2022, led by consultant randy harrington of strategic arts and sciences. The resulting plan was ratified in january 2023 and spans through 2026.
Ngra's extension and outreach events included:- asev-ngra precision viticulture symposium: ngra partnered with the american society for enology and viticulture to produce this educational event, which won a conference grant from the usda's National institute of food and agriculture for 2021-22. The conference proceedings, held in june 2021 via zoom, attracted 200 people. An in-person day of demonstrations took place on april 23, 2022, in salinas, ca; 150 people attended.- National viticulture & enology extension leadership conference: august 14-17, 2022, ngra supported nveelc, hosted by uc cooperative extension in California's san joaquin valley. It included tours of table, wine and raisin Grape vineyards for 50 extension educators from across the u.s.
In 2022, Research activities that ngra initiated or supported included:- vitisgen3: this ngra-initiated genetics Research focused on powdery mildew resistance was first funded by the usda's specialty crop Research initiative (scri) in 2012. In late 2021, it was awarded its third consecutive scri grant-and at $10m, its largest. The project formally kicked off in january 2022.- hi-res vineyard nutrition - this ngra-initiated Research won scri funding in late 2020 and the project began in 2021. In 2022, it concluded its first full year of exploration.- smoke exposure - ngra joined the west coast smoke exposure task force, organized by California, Oregon and Washington winegrower groups, to secure $5m in appropriations for Research in this area via land-grant institutions and usda-ars. Ngra also supported and is an advisor to a smoke exposure Research project that won scri funding in 2022. - ngra fellowship: ngra launched this new three-year award to fund the Research of a ph.d. student that advances our Research priorities. Our inaugural fellow, selected in june 2022, is abby hammermeister of uc davis. Her work focuses on finetuning grapevine water stress indicators.