Pinot Leaf Curl appearing in Central Coast vineyards

Apr 17, 2015

An unusual malady called "Pinot Leaf Curl" has been appearing in Central Coast vineyards this spring, affecting plantings of Pinot Noir primarily but with symptoms sometimes also seen in other Pinot varieties. This malady appears inconsistently from one year to the next, but when it does appear it is generally very widespread, suggesting a correlation to environmental conditions. Symptoms on the Central Coast are generally not as severe as are often observed in the North Coast.

The symptoms are often mistaken for other causes such as shoot botrytis, frost damage, or spray oil damage. Images of these other symptoms are shown below.

For more detailed information on Pinot Leaf Curl, see the article by Rhonda Smith, Viticulture Farm Advisor for Sonoma County at the following link:

http://cesonoma.ucanr.edu/files/140352.pdf