Vine weevil attacking my grapes!

I noticed what I thought were vine weevils on the grape vine
in spring and treated it with nematodes. It then developed downy
mildew while I was away on holiday so I drenched it with the stuff
recommended by my local garden centre.

For the following weeks and months, the leaves turned brown and died.  The grapes stopped growing and turned black.  Lately I have seen more vine weevils. Can I
rescue this for next year or do I give up and cut it down and burn
it?  In previous years it has fruited heavily and been very healthy.
It grows in my green house with some excellent tomatoes and peppers,
all unaffected!

What do you advise?

Wendy Heron

I would continue with your Grape Vine. It is a bad year for Vine weevils this year with high numbers. They do not often attack Tomatoes or Peppers, so I am not surprised they are un-touched. You may need to keep repeating Vine weevil killer treatments for a while. Try to get an application applied in the next few weeks and then again in the spring. This will significantly reduce the Vine weevil larvae numbers in the soil or compost. The larvae will have likely weakened the roots and made the plant more prone to diseases.

Grapes are also prone to powdery mildew. You might want to consider applying some Fruits Boost, which contains Mycorrhiza fungi. This will help the roots develop and strengthen the plant. I hope this helps.

Regards Julian