Bud Hardiness Data

Grapevine Cold Hardiness Monitoring

Winter low temperatures that fall below a critical value can damage grapevine buds.  The critical temperature for bud injury varies over the dormant season, and responds to daily changes in temperature.  We can measure this critical temperature through a procedure called differential thermal analysis, which involves controlled freezing of a sample of buds collected from vineyards. 

We monitor samples weekly from November to March, and every two weeks for samples from the Hudson Valley and Lake Erie vineyards between mid-winter and March.

The data presented here is part of the Fruit Crop Physiology Research and Extension program at Cornell University. Below are links to our new interactive cold hardiness app, the new NEWA cold hardiness prediction tool, and the VineColD database of weather and cold hardiness predictions. Please give it a try and let us know if you experience any problems with the interface. 

Testing Cold Hardiness

Each winter, Cornell Extension staff from the Finger Lakes, Lake Erie and Hudson Valley regions collect samples of grape buds to test their ability to withstand cold temperatures. Grape growers use this information to make decisions about their pruning strategy during the dormant season in order to retain enough fruitful buds to ensure an adequate crop the following growing season.

Contact Us

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Jason Londo

Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Horticulture Section

Cornell AgriTech

Jason Londo
Fruit crop stress physiology and adaptation
Graft physiology and phenotypic plasticity
Comparative genetics and genomics