It was my understanding that downy mildew is the easiest to control with compost teas. The issue was whether compost tea would replace sulpher in an overall vineyard disease management program, not whether it could control downy mildew. The 3 seasons requirement of the original question was intended to eliminate variations in disease pressure from year to year. For example, due to the relatively low moisture of this past season, downy mildew was not the problem in this region this past growing season that it normally is.
So what kept the mildew away ? Noone is challenging your experience. That's what York is looking for: vineyard managers who will say that compost tea has worked for them.
-Allan
Allan I wish I had gone to that conference but it was just a day after our own Guelph Organic Conference. We worked with Dr. Elaine Ingham and used Aerobic Compost tea all last season. I removed copper from our vineyard spray program entirely. For 20+ acres we used less than 50 pounds of sulphur all season.So what kept the mildew away ? this is Ontario not the arid west coast that Alan York it from. We have lots of powdery mildew AND we have something they don't in California - we have downey mildew. Laura Sabourin EcoVit Ecologically Sound Horticultural Products Tea-riffic Areobic Compost Tea and Acadian Seaplant Products RR # 1 St Catharines, Ontario L2R 6P7 http://www.ecovit.ca
