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Grape (Vitis vinifera) is basically a sub- tropical crop. However, in India, grapes are cultivated for their excellence also under tropical conditions. The Origin of Grapes is assumed to be Central Asia (Region between Black sea and Caucasian sea). Grapes is a popular agricultural crop all over the world. There are more than 10,000 different varieties of grapes worldwide, which are consumed in a variety of forms. Whole grapes intended for fresh consumption are called "table grapes." Grapes can be eaten fresh as table grapes or they can be used for making wine, jam, jelly, grape juice, grape seed extract, raisins, vinegar, and grape seed oil.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75,866 square km of the world is dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. There are no reliable statistics that break down grape production by variety. It is believed that the most widely planted variety is Sultana, also known as Thompson Seedless, with at least 3,600 km2 (880,000 acres) dedicated to it. Some of the major varieties of commercially grown grapes in India are - Thompson Seedless, Sonaka & Sharad Seedless.
The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year in the world. Top 10 Grapes producing countries are China, US, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Chile, Argentina, Iran and South Africa. In India approx. 1.2 Lakh Acres of area is dedicated for Grapes Cultivation with Production of 26 Lakh MT and Maharashtra contributes 73% of total Grapes Cultivation area followed by Karnataka 20%, Mizoram 2%, Tamil Nadu 2% & Kerala 1%. In Maharashtra Solapur, Nashik, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara are the major grapes producing districts and in Karnataka Bijapur, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Kolar, Bangalore districts. Table grape cultivators tend to have large, seedless fruit with relatively thin skin. Wine grapes are smaller, usually seeded, and have relatively thick skins.
According to APEDA figures, Maharashtra and Karnataka are currently exporting grapes and almost 99 per cent of the exports are from Maharashtra. The total export this season year 2020 has been 70,412 MT, of which 70,320 MT has been exported from Maharashtra and 91 MT from Karnataka
Wine grapes also tend to be very sweet: they are harvested at the time when their juice is approximately 24% sugar by weight. By comparison, commercially produced "100% grape juice", made from table grapes, is usually around 15% sugar by weight
Major disease in Grapes are Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf spot and Major Insect & pest is Thrips, Mites & Mealy bug
Out of this 4 disease 2 is already tackled by Dhanuka Agritech Limited’s world class product and for the other two Downy Mildew & Powdery Mildew soon Dhanuka will introduce with new chemistries that not only benefits the grape grower to get rid of these diseases but also will bring delight in terms of quality & yield.
Grapes Farmers are always searching for a solution for Anthracnose and Bacterial leaf spot because of the difficulty to identify the symptoms leads then to wrong pesticide usage and increases cost of production.
Bacterial Leaf Spot: The disease is more prevalent during June-August and again in February-March. Temperature range of 25-30 ºC and relative humidity of 80-90% is favorable for the development of the disease. The young growing shoots are affected first. Disease infects leaves, shoots and berries. The symptoms appear as minute water soaked spots on the lower surface of the leaves along the main and lateral veins. Later on these spots coalesce and form larger patches. Brownish black lesions are formed on the berries, which later become small and shriveled.
Anthracnose: Small light brown or grayish black lesions develop on tender shoots, young leaves, flowers and young berries. It causes short holes in the leaves and thus reduces the effective leaf area. Affected blossoms fail to set fruits. The fungus also causes cankers on the petioles and veins, and leaves become twisted and deformed. On berries, the disease causes circular brown sunken spots with dark brown margins. Bunches with anthracnose affected berries lose their export value. Rain and dew are highly favorable for the spread of the disease.
The deadly combination of Anthracnose caused by Fungus Elsinoe Ampelina & Bacterial Leaf Spot caused by Bacteria Xanthomonas Campestris makes the Grape field deprived of beautiful bunches of grapes hanging in the field and has the capability to affect the yield by up to 30-50% if not taken seriously. There are a lot of molecules available in the market to separately control Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf spot but farmers are looking for a product which will control both, and understanding the plight of Grape growers –Dhanuka had introduced a novel product , Conika.
During the trials in Sangli , a hub of raisin production in India this problem was spotted and then Dhanuka not only tried and tested this product in field but also captured the user experiencse and all of them got delighted with the innovative solution of Dhanuka’s innovative molecule - Conika. Now it was time to spread the awareness among channel partners and specially to focus on the reach of the product at the right time to the Grape Growers. After some initial hiccups & teething problems Dhanuka team has managed to finally ensure that the product reaches out to a majority of Sangli Grape Growers.
Dhanuka managed to capture the delight of a few grape growers who had used the product and were impressed with the results. Here are some of the endorsements for Conika.
Srikant Mali, Village Lignoor, Tehsil Miraj Sangli “This year I tried Conika after fall foot stage and what I got is excellent control in Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf spot, Conika is the product that we were looking for many years so that the a single product could provide one stop solution for both the diseases”
Kisan Gawade, Village Walwa, Tehsil Walwa, Sangli “I am always using Dhanuka Products in the field and this year we tried Conika in all the fields after fail foot stage and took 2 sprays at 12 day interval and we saw the difference in the field from other grapes field which didnot not try Conika, here you see after 40 days of spray that there is no infection in leaves & berries and size of bunches is also very good. I am a member of 200 farmer whatsapp group of grape grower and in this group I have also suggested the spray of Conika for the Control of Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf Spot”.
Vijay Yangare, Village Gundewadi, Tehsil Miraj Sangli “I used Conika after fall foot stage. Last Year we use 4-5 Sprays of different molecules but this year we used only 2 sprays of Conika and the result of Conika is very good for Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf Spot. I keep telling most of the grape growers who are in contact with me that you have to take atleast one spay after fail foot stage”
What you read here from Srikant Mali, Kisan Gawade, Vijay Yangare are some of the endorsements from Grape Growers for Conika but there are many more farmers who are delighted with the result of Conika and those who had missed the spray due to the crop stage reaching flowering stage, have committed that next year they will go with at least one spray of Conika for disease free and healthy bunches.
To summarize what the farmers say about Conika is that Conika ensures disease free healthy leaves, effective control on Anthracnose & Bacterial Leaf Spot, longer duration of control & stronger canopy in grape vineyards.
The question arises when to spay and the answer is for April Pruning (foundation pruning) framer should take 2 sprays just after pruning within 15 days interval and for Forward Pruning/Fruit Pruning farmer should take 2 sprays after fall foot stage at 12 days interval with dose of 300gm/acre. But you have to take some precaution also while using Conika - Use Conika as a Prophylactic Spray, don’t mix Sulphur based Chemicals, and most important not to spray of Conika at flowering stage.
Dhanuka Agritech Limited provide a wide range of solution for all disease and pest and one of the Registered product Conika in grapes contain Kasugamycin 5% & Copper Oxychloride 45% in WP formulation, a Broad & Cross spectrum Bactericide & fungicide with Contact & Systemic action registered in CIB(Central Insecticide Board), and approved by NRCG Pune
Kasugamycin belongs to group hexopyranosyl antibiotic, inhibits proliferation of bacteria by tampering with their ability to make new proteins, the ribosome being the major target. It inhibits protein synthesis of bacteria at the translation initiation step on the other hand Copper Oxychloride belongs to inorganic group with multisite contact activity on fungus. Its mode of action is by interfering with the enzyme system of spores and mycelium, a process which is usually irreversible
The uniqueness of Conika lies in the blending of these 2 technicals with MAB (Monoclonal antibodies) technology, here Fungicide & Bactericide molecules are attached with MAB Bond and becomes a unit and both molecules as a unit move together & stay together in various plant parts and controls both fungus & bacteria on infection site. MAB bond also acts as activator for both molecules and multiplies the individual result in manifolds (Synergistic Effect), the dual chemistry makes the farmer’s choice for effective solution much easier.
“Midas touch of Conika, a perfect chemistry enriching the life of Grape Grower, you can also be a witness of this touch with a dose of 300gm/Acre in your vineyard”
