The Raisin Industry: A practical treatise on the raisin grapes, their history, culture and curingEisen, Gustavus A.
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The Raisin Industry: A practical treatise on the raisin grapes, their history, culture and curing
Eisen, Gustavus A.
Raisins; Viticulture -- California
The summer pruning in no way injures the vines. The sap is
checked in its flow only for a few days, and within a week the new side
shoots make their appearance. But the vineyardist must be careful not to
summer prune after the hot summer weather has set in, as the hot weather
will burn or scald the young grapes and ruin them entirely. For the San
Joaquin valley raisin districts, I cannot advise summer pruning after
the first days of June; in Southern California, somewhat later.
Grapevines on sandy, dry and poor soil should not be summer pruned, or
only very lightly so. They have not strength to start a new growth and
will remain stunted all through the season.
Many growers of Riverside, El Cajon and Fresno consider summer pruning
beneficial, if not necessary, and practice it every year regularly. It
is necessary to summer prune heavily or not at all. Cut back one-half of
the growth, or cut back leaving one or two leaves above the bunch of
grapes on every cane. If the young canes are only topped, the secondary
branches will come out near the ends of the canes and bear them down, in
time exposing the bunches to the sun as well as causing the second crop
to grow too far from the main trunk, the summer pruning thus acting the
opposite of which it was intended. In Greece the wine grapevines are
summer pruned, but the currants are never so treated.
_Root-pruning._--The pruning of the roots of grapevines, in order to
cause them to bear, is entirely unnecessary, and is never done by
experienced growers. Some growers have practiced the cutting of the
surface roots of the vines so as to cause the tap roots or the main
roots to go farther down, and they claim that by this method greater
crops are harvested. I am satisfied this is only a theory not supported
by facts. Surface roots are as necessary to plants as deep-soil roots,
and serve the plants in their way, bringing atmospheric air to the
circulation in the roots. If too many surface roots are formed, it is a
sure indication of too much water in the top soil, as too frequent
irrigation with a small stream of water will cause such roots to form.
The proper remedy is to irrigate less frequently, but more at a time.
The above does not refer to the pruning of the roots of grafted vines.
In cases where Muscats have been grafted on resistant stocks, it is of
importance that the graft should not make roots of its own, as these
would soon overpower the stock and in their turn succumb to the enemies
which it was the intention to avoid. When rooted vines are planted in
the vineyard, their roots should be well pruned, and all dead and
decaying, as well as dried-up, parts should be removed. If they are
allowed to remain on the vines, they will draw moisture from the sound
parts at a time when all the moisture is needed for the formation of new
roots.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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