PIRSA has again released a vineyard resting rebate for South Australian growers seeking to apply Ethephon to abort the crop and rest their vineyard for a season to assist in overcoming the industry oversupply. Further details can be found here.
The rebate is $40 per hectare to cover the cost of Ethephon, with up to 1,000 hectares per grower and 5,000 hectares across all growers.
The scheme is open and will close on 31 January 2025 or earlier if 5,000 hectares is reached.
The PIRSA fact sheet indicates the efficacy of the treatment in reducing the crop and outlines the requirements of the APVMA Permit which must also be followed. If undertaken, the spray event will need to be recorded in your spray records.
While Ethephon will vastly reduce the crop if applied correctly, fungal diseases such as powdery and downy mildew along with insect pests will still need to be controlled. Vines will still need some irrigation to maintain a smaller canopy and avoid vine death.
If using Ethephon, use extreme caution when treating boundary rows to avoid chemical trespass to adjoining vineyards and other crops. Buffer rows and untreated rows are encouraged in this case.
If you are resting your vineyard, you still need to pay the Phylloxera and Grape Industry levy, as vines remain alive and still in the ground.