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Question & Answer

We are discussing Gardening, Growing and Green Thumbs!
With Brian Walters, Diana O'Brien and Pauline Cornish

Question:
What can I do about the brown furry spots on the leaves of the grapevine on my pergola. Is this rust? Does it affect the fruit eg is it still safe to eat? I was told to clear all last year's leaves and it wouldn't come back. I did this but it has returned.

Answer:
Brian - I can't give a definitive answer to this - grapevines are not my specialty (other than drinking their produce...). From the little bit of research I have been able to carry out, the problem seems unlikely to be rust. Apparently, grapevine rust has only been detected in Australia in the Darwin area. There is some information on grapevine rust on the website of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Australia.

The spots could be due to several agents and it's extremely difficult to know exactly what is causing them without seeing them - even then it might be difficult. The spots could be due to insect mites, a fungus, bacterial or viral infection or physical damage due to sun and drying winds. Treatment would be different in each case.

The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) has some information on grapevine diseases and treatment on its website. However, I think a definitive identification is needed.

Most major botanical gardens have an identification service for pests and diseases. I'd suggest getting in touch with the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. Although they are set up to deal with Australian native plants, they may be able to help or at least put you in touch with an organisation that can. These organisations would also be able to recommend treatment methods. The National Botanic Gardens can be contacted through its website.

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