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OSU Viticulture and Enology Program awarded national grantOklahoma The Oklahoma State University Viticulture and Enology program in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture in Stillwater has been awarded a nationally competitive grant through the Specialty Crops Research Initiative administered by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project, "Development of a grape community of practice for the eXtension system," will offer state and regionally relevant, science-based information on grape production from the scientists doing the research and making discoveries. In all, 13 different national institutions are involved in the project with backing from several state grape grower organizations, industry leaders such as Welch's and the National Grape and Wine Initiative. Eric T. Stafne, assistant professor and viticulture specialist, was the lead author of the three-year, $850,000 proposal. Co-authors are Kathleen Kelsey, professor, Agricultural Education, Communications, and Leadership department at OSU; Keith Striegler, University of Missouri; and Ed Hellman, Texas A&M. "There is a considerable amount of information on the Internet and other sources on grape growing, but sorting through that material to make it relevant to your own grape production situation is difficult," Stafne said. "This project will pull together the most up-to-date, science-based information, categorize it based on region or state and make it available to anyone who wants to grow grapes." The goal is to streamline currently available viticulture information with the idea of heading off the tremendous amount of unsubstantiated advice on the Internet today. All information will be available at one site, regardless of where the user is located. Users will enter their zip code and be directed to information appropriate to their situation. Stafne said this is an opportunity to create a national source for grape growing information and education. "We are excited to help the grape industry nationwide and provide a significant educational benefit to those who are interested in the growing area of grape production," he said. The project will run from 2009 to 2012. The materials will be offered through eXtension.org.
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