Grapes -- Varieties -- United States; Viticulture -- United States
When the five shoots grow, the height of the head will be determined
at the next winter pruning by which of the corresponding canes are
left as spurs. If the highest two canes are cut back to spurs and all
others removed, the vine will be headed as high as possible, as these
two spurs form the two first arms which determine the length of the
trunk. If the lowest two canes are chosen and all of the vine above
them removed, the trunk will be made as low as possible. Intermediate
heights can be obtained by using some other two adjacent canes and
removing the rest. It is often advisable to leave some extra spurs
lower than it is desired to head the vine and to remove these lower
spurs the following winter after they have borne a crop. For example,
the three or four upper canes might be left, if the vine is vigorous
enough, and the lowest one or two of these removed at the next
pruning. This, however, is not often necessary with properly handled
vines and is objectionable because it makes large wounds in the trunk.
_Third winter pruning._
At the end of the third season's growth the vine should have a
straight, well-developed trunk with a number of vigorous canes near
the top from which to form the arms.
Figure 28 represents a well-grown vine at this period. No shoots have
been allowed to grow on the lower part of the trunk and the five buds
allowed to grow above have produced nine vigorous canes. The pruner
should leave enough spurs to supply all the fruit buds that the vine
can utilize. The number, size and thickness of the canes show that the
vine is very vigorous and can support a large crop. It will depend
somewhat on the variety how many buds should be left. For a variety
whose bunches average one pound, and which produces two bunches to the
shoot, twelve fruit buds should give about twenty-four pounds, or
about seven tons per acre, if the vines are planted 12 by 6 feet, as
these were. The number of spurs will depend on their length. Six spurs
of two buds each will give the required number, but as some of these
canes are exceptionally vigorous they should be left a little longer,
in which case a smaller number of spurs will suffice.
[Illustration: FIG. 28. Three-year-old vine ready for pruning.]
When the number and length of the spurs are decided on, the canes
should be chosen which will leave these spurs in the most suitable
position for forming arms. This position will depend on whether we
want a vase-form or fan-shaped vine. In the first case, we choose
those which will distribute the spurs most evenly and symmetrically on
all sides, avoiding any which cross or point downwards.
In the second case, we choose only those canes which run in the
direction of the trellis, avoiding canes which stick out between the
rows. Downward pointing canes may be used in this case.
[Illustration: FIG. 29. Vine of Fig. 28 after pruning for vase-formed
head.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account