UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Extension, in collaboration with Cornell University, recently produced four “learn-now” videos aimed at educating grape growers about clean grapevines.
“We’re trying to give a general overview and provide fundamental information about what the National Clean Plant Network is and what grapevine certification means,” said Cain Hickey, viticulture extension educator and assistant teaching professor of viticulture in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Plant Science.
In the case of grapes, the “clean/certified plant” distinction means that the grape vines were tested for known, economically relevant viruses, Hickey explained, which can give growers peace of mind when planting new vineyards.
“They’re not completely virus-free, necessarily,” Hickey said. “But given the testing, these vines have a greater chance of being free from economically relevant viruses than noncertified vines.”
He noted that some viruses can cause premature vine decline.
“Vines can be productive for 25 to 35 years or longer in the northeastern U.S.; viruses can limit that productive timeframe,” Hickey said, adding that viruses also can limit crop yield and fruit maturity, which could negatively affect revenues.
The short videos are designed to deliver easily digestible bits of information and will cover questions such as:
— What is the National Clean Plant Network, and what does it mean when a grape vine is certified?
— What methods are used to certify that vines are “clean”?
— What steps are necessary for clean plant production and sale?
— How can growers source certified clean vines, and are there benefits to purchasing and planting clean vines?
Hickey was invited to serve as the extension and outreach representative for the network’s grapes committee. He plans to share the videos with outreach representatives from the network’s other committees, such as those for sweet potatoes and apples, to demonstrate opportunities for educational and outreach products in a video format.
“Videos are a relatively new extension deliverable,” Hickey said. “We suspect and hope growers are inclined to listen and watch short videos as much as they are to read a fact sheet or production guide chapter. These videos provide new opportunities to reach audiences that are engaged in online and media-based learning and are in a format easily shared via social media.”
Hickey co-wrote the scripts and recorded the videos alongside his friend and colleague, Marc Fuchs, the chair of the network’s grapes committee. Fuchs, a plant virologist by training, teaches plant pathology and plant-microbe biology at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He also helps direct and coordinate the clean plant certification process in New York state.
“Marc researches plant and grapevine viruses as the primary focus of his academic career,” Hickey said. “As such, he is one of the most qualified people in the country to speak on this topic.”
The videos are available on the Penn State Extension website.
These videos are included in a video series called “Answers From the Vineyard, Winery and Tasting Room: A Series of Short Videos From the Penn State Extension Grape and Wine Extension Team.”
Impressed by the initial round of videos, the National Clean Plant Network awarded grant funding for the team to create three to four additional videos from September 2024 to August 2025.
More educational resources from the Penn State Grape and Wine Team can be found online.
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