ASEV’s Invasive Pest Webinar Series Starts June 3

DAVIS, Calif., May 28, 2020 – The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) is pleased to announce a webinar series on invasive pests starting June 3. In lieu of the symposium that was set to take place at the Joint 71^st ASEV National Conference and 45^th ASEV Eastern Section Annual Meeting on June 15-18, 2020, in Portland, Oregon, the board shifted its format from a one-day symposium into a four-part webinar series. The speakers will present information on new and re-emerging invasive vineyard pests in North American grape production. The 1-hour webinars are free to ASEV members and $50 per webinar for non-members. 

On June 3, Heather Leach, an extension associate with a focus in entomology at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, will launch the series by discussing the impact of the spotted lanternfly in Northeastern vineyards. Furthermore, she will review its biology and identification, the risk of its establishment on the West Coast and how to best manage it.

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive planthopper that was first discovered in the U.S. in 2014 in Pennsylvania. Since its introduction, it has spread to six states and has caused considerable damage to agricultural and ornamental plants, with grapevines being the most impacted agricultural commodity to date. Spotted lanternflies feeding in vineyards can cause significant yield losses or vine death.

The invasive pest webinar series will include:

• June 3: Impact of the New Invasive Pest, Spotted Lanternfly, in the Northeastern Vineyards by Heather Leach (The Pennsylvania State University, University Park) at noon – 1:00 p.m. (PDT)
• July 2: Fruit Flies and Their Role in Causing Sour Rot by Megan Hall (University of Missouri, Columbia) at noon –1:00 p.m. (PDT)
• October 22: Lifecycle Modeling and the Impacts of Climate Change by Gwen-Alyn Hoheisel (Washington State University, Prosser) at noon – 1 p.m. (PDT)
• November 12: Invasive Species Response: Lessons from the European Grapevine Moth Collaboration Program by Monica Cooper (University of California, Cooperative Extension, Napa County) at noon – 1 p.m. (PDT)

Registration is currently available for the June 3 webinar. Registration will be available soon for the remaining webinars in the series. For more information, click here.

Founded in 1950 by a group of researchers and winemakers, the ASEV is dedicated to the interests of enologists, viticulturists and others in the fields of wine and grape research and production throughout the world.  For more information, visit www.asev.org.