Foundation Plant Services News

We recently completed the annual grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) testing of our Classic Foundation Vineyard, with none of the 4,660 vines testing positive. This is the third consecutive year of zero GRBV incidence in the ten years since we began testing for GRBV, and FPS continues to distribute propagative material from this foundation vineyard. However, there is no guarantee that the Classic Foundation vineyard will remain GRBV-free, so we are transitioning to greenhouse cultivation.

Thanks to generous industry support for this transition, we will break ground this year on an 11,700 square-foot greenhouse that will house up to 700 grapevine selections and protect them from insect-vectored pathogens. Propagation of selected grapevines began in 2019 and is 36% complete. Once these vines, and all other future propagates, complete the testing and registration process, they can be considered part of the foundation greenhouse collection. The addition of a second Foundation Greenhouse, once funded, will take place in Phase 2. This will bring the total greenhouse capacity to approximately 1400 selections, which represents 66% of the selections currently planted in the Classic Vineyard.

The greenhouse construction efforts are just the latest in our response to the GRBV outbreak at Russell Ranch Foundation Vineyard. Along with annual testing of the entire Classic Foundation Vineyard, all ordered grapevine material is tested for GRBV again before shipping. We have invested in insect-exclusion vestibules and screens for our facilities and contributed nearly $1 million to the Phase 1 greenhouse planning and construction efforts.

In addition to increased operational costs to mitigate GRBV, the FPS budget has been impacted by supply chain issues, global inflation, and recent University-wide salary increases. Part of these additional expenses were met with increased funding provided by the California Fruit Tree, Nut Tree, And Grapevine Improvement Advisory Board (IAB) and National Clean Plant Network (NCPN).  However, additional IAB and NCPN funds are not permanent solutions that can sustain the grape clean stock program. After consulting with FPS grape stakeholders and evaluating current prices for user fees, materials, and services, we have determined it is necessary to raise the rates charged by FPS.

New Grape User Fee Rate

Effective for grape propagative units sold, exchanged, or retained in 2023 and after, the base user fee due on grape materials has increased from $0.04/unit to $0.08/unit. This is the first increase to the user fee rate since 2010. The way this user fee is calculated varies based on propagation method –see the user fee page for a full breakdown. FPS will honor the prior rate of $0.04/unit for materials contracted in 2022 and before. We will continue to work together to refine the user fee collection process. In 2022, we sent user fee notices over email instead of just postal mail, which resulted in an increase in the timely return of reporting forms. We are also working with industry leaders and CDFA to implement a user fee audit system.

New Grape Material Prices

FPS distributes dormant grape propagative material from February through March each year. Orders should be submitted to FPS by November 15 for priority allocation of available stock. For orders shipping to Oregon, the order deadline is September 15 due to additional testing requirements. For full information about FPS Grapevine Material ordering, visit our website.

Effective for grape material sold by FPS after April 1, 2023, the price structure is as follows:

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Prices

New Grape Introduction Services Prices

FPS offers testing and treatment services for both public and proprietary grape selections. This service includes complete disease testing panel and concurrent disease elimination therapy by microshoot-tip tissue culture or heat therapy (including pre- and post-therapy testing panels) to qualify foreign and domestic selections for release from federal quarantine and/or inclusion in the CDFA Registration and Certification Program. The US Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have approved FPS’s use of a new diagnostic protocol that replaces biological indexing with high throughput sequencing (HTS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for quarantine release and certification of grapevines. The streamlined testing methods will yield the most accurate information about the phytosanitary status of incoming material and expedite release times.  Click here to read the news release about this protocol. The new fee schedule for introduction services, effective April 1, 2023, is as follows:

Testing & Treatment of proprietary grape selection: $4,500 per selection.

Testing & Treatment of public grape selection: $2,500 per selection.

Planting of proprietary selection in FPS Foundation Collection after Testing & Treatment: $650 per selection.

Annual maintenance of proprietary selection in FPS Foundation Collection: $200 per selection per year.

The previous prices for testing & treatment will be honored for any requests that were initiated prior to April 1, 2023. More information about Grape Introduction Services can be found at fps.ucdavis.edu.