![\"A](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Red-Blotch-Infected-Grapevine-edited.jpg\")
<\/a>The crimson to purple colouring on this leaf indicates the presence of a Red Blotch Virus infection on this grapevine in Niagara.<\/p><\/div>\n
There are more than 80 different known grapevine viruses, of which a handful can seriously impact vine health and may result in vine death. Many of these viruses are transmitted by insect vectors, making management even more challenging.<\/p>\n
While Carr\u2019s research looked at all viruses impacting the grape and wine industry, growers are most concerned about managing the grapevine red blotch virus and grapevine leafroll-associated viruses, which are present in and negatively impacting Niagara vineyards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese major viruses can have serious economic implications,\u201d says Carr. \u201cWhen a vine becomes infected, it can impact the sugar content of the grapes, something that is especially important for the quality of wine grapes.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Carr sought how knowledge of grapevine virus research was being shared and used, she found Canadian research efforts in the past 10 years have grown exponentially, providing more knowledge for intermediaries and growers to enhance their understanding of these viruses and implement effective management strategies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs research efforts have increased, there is more knowledge for growers to access,\u201d says Carr. \u201cWe are seeing a lot coming out of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Brock\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), and from other research centres based in Vineland, Ontario and British Columbia, and internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping to mobilize the knowledge are boundary organizations \u2014 groups that work to develop relationships between researchers and scientists and the community and users of the information, including growers and intermediaries.<\/p>\n
Among the barriers identified, growers severely impacted by grapevine viruses highlighted the need for access to virus-free vines and financial resources to be able to implement management practices. Ongoing research is being done in Niagara to address these challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnsuring research addresses growers\u2019 needs is key for effective knowledge mobilization,\u201d says Carr. \u201cBrock\u2019s CCOVI is one boundary organization playing a major industry role.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Kaitlyn Carr is a second-year master\u2019s of Sustainability Science and Society student.<\/p><\/div>\n
CCOVI has enhanced industry outreach in recent years with scientists whose roles are dedicated in part to knowledge mobilization.<\/p>\n
Another way Niagara-based boundary organizations and intermediary groups are trying to reach growers is by offering conferences and webinars and hosting outreach activities throughout the year, such as field days and farm tours to generate research interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to be able to work in Niagara on this research. Kaitlyn\u2019s work has a lot of practical relevance to our community,\u201d says Brock\u2019s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair Julia Baird, who is co-supervising Carr.<\/p>\n
Accumulating and synthesizing published research on this topic from Canada and the U.S. over the past 10 years, Carr\u2019s work will also provide an overview of current knowledge on grapevine viruses and identify gaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch of the research done to date in agriculture is quantitative, economic and demographic,\u201d says co-supervisor Amy Lemay, who is an ESRC Adjunct Professor and CCOVI Fellow. \u201cKnowledge mobilization requires a holistic understanding of how farmers make decisions about adopting agri-innovations. This study was designed to discover insights into what\u2019s working and where there is room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about Brock\u2019s environmental sustainability research and programs, visit Brock\u2019s ESRC website<\/a>. More information about grapevine virus testing services can be found on the CCOVI website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Niagara grape growers require access to research to make informed decisions about the best ways to manage their crops. This means researchers and intermediaries, such as crop consultants and advisory personnel, need to get emerging findings to them as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":87298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9794,41,1,5],"tags":[61,855,296,2262,607,522,2105,12839],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87297"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87303,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87297\/revisions\/87303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}