TTie Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXXIV 



JUNE, 19(1 



No. 6 



The Grape— Its Cultivation and Care 



UNDOUBTEDLY the best method 

 of pruning the grape in Ontario is 

 the true or four arm Kniffen sys- 

 tem, possibly excepting the weaker grow- 

 ing varieties as Delaware and Moyer. 

 The canes for the season's crop should 

 spring from short spurs on the main up- 

 iLfht trunk having the connecting base 

 list below the supporting wires. This 

 ..'ikes the ideal form of vine. The en- 

 deavor to equalize growth on the lower 

 arms by growing these canes as a divis- 

 ion of the main trunk, is in my opinion a 

 fallacy. I have not found that it gives 

 any advantage in this way. It is not ob- 

 ligatory to select the new canes for the 

 season's crop from those found nearest 

 to the main trunk, but it is highly de- 

 sirable to do so, provided they are strong 

 and well ripened. It is also desirable to 

 bring out new canes from the main trunk 

 every three or four years to renew the 

 spur in order to eliminate the sprawly 

 growth and the undesirable long knotty 

 old wood forming these spurs. The up- 

 per canes should carry three to four more 

 buds than those on the lower wires, and 

 the total number of buds allowed to re- 

 main will depend entirely upon the var- 

 iety and the strength of growth. 



These four pruned canes should be tied 

 securely to the wires before the buds 

 .swell in the spring and the. best method of 

 procedure is to twist each cane care- 

 fully around the wire tying the outer end 

 securely with grape twine, two wrap- 

 pings and a secure knot. This permits 

 the weight of the entire crop to be carried 

 by the trellis wires and not by the canes 

 themselves or the main trunk. It is 

 seldom necessary to support the main 

 trunk where this method is used, but 

 when found advisable to do so, use a 

 short piece of wire shaped like a U, plac- 

 ing the same around the trunk and giving 

 the ends a half turn around the trellis 

 wire. Never encircle the trunk with 

 twine; if you must use twine thus, tie to 

 the wire, carry around the trunk, and tie 

 to the wire again. This will prevent 

 strangulation. 



The shoots from the horizontal canes 

 grow out obliouely, but soon fall and 

 hang down with the weight of the fruit 

 and foliage. Any tendency on their part 

 to cling to the trellising must be checked 

 by tearing off, so that they may hang 

 free. There is no necessity for summer 

 pruning, excepting the removal of sprouts 

 and suckers, and the rutting off of the 

 ends of the bearing wood when this 



A. Bonar Balfour, Pilrig Fruit Farm, Port Dalhous 



reaches the ground and hinders cultiva 



tion. 



FERTILIZATION 



The fertility of the vineyard is an im- 

 portant consideration. The land must be 

 rich to produce a good quality of grape, 

 though an over-abundance of barnyard 

 manure is not advisable. A moderate al- 

 lowance, together with such commercial 

 fertilizers as are necessary to supplement 

 those elements most required by the 

 grape is essential, nor must th re be any 

 stint. The practice of manuring only 

 around the base of the main trunk, where 

 the feeding roots are erroneously sup- 

 posed to be, is bad. The fertilizing ma- 

 terial must be spread or scattered broad- 

 cast over the whole surface rf the ground 

 to produce the best results. 



Large crops of the finest quality of 

 fruit may be grown without the use of 

 barnyard manure provided cover crops 



Will Recotntnend it 



I congratulate you upon the 

 great improvement I notice in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist, especial- 

 ly along the line of caring for the 

 apple orchard. I will recommend 

 it to every fruit grower. — J. G. 

 Jarvis, Black River Bridge, Ont. 



are grown to maintain the proper me- 

 chanical condition of the soil together 

 with the liberal use of commercial fertil- 

 izers of such composition as is suited to 

 start and maintain growth throughout the 

 season. Nitrogen, in any of its special con- 

 centrated forms, is not adapted to the 

 grape and its use especially by those not 

 versed in the matter of these special fer- 

 tilizers, has a tendency to delay ripening 

 of the fruit and canes, whereas bene and 

 potash salts will hasten the maturing of 

 both in a marked degree — under proper 

 conditions. 



SULPHURING 



Few growers in Ontario sulphur, or 

 if they do they do it so imperfectly as to 

 be of little value, and it is a pity that sul- 

 phuring is not given the same careful at- 

 tention as is given the pruning. 



Mildew, the oidium of Europe, is re- 

 sponsible for much of the poor fruit which 

 may annually be seen on our markets. 

 This can absolutely be controlled by the 

 proper application of sulphur. It is true 

 that cultural methods help the control to 



133 



ie, Ont, 



a limited extent, but that alone is not suf- 

 ficient. 



Sulphur to be efficacious must cover 

 the whole vine. Throwing sulphur over 

 the vines or dusting on the same by means 

 of perforated tins or through sacking is 

 improvident of substance and imperfect 

 in application. Sulphur acts by means 

 of the fumes it gives off when the tem- 

 perature is sufficiently high. These 

 fumes destroy the mycelium and summer 

 spores of the fungus, but in order to ob- 

 tain this desirable end the sulphur must 

 be in close contact and must therefore 

 cover the vine in its entirety. The nearer 

 a spore or a piece of mycelium is to a 

 particle of sulphur, the more quickly it 

 IS killed. Practice has shown that sul- 

 phur placed on the ground under the vines 

 is wholly useless, though one might 

 reasonably suppose otherwise, when it is 

 considered that there we find the warmest 

 air. 



Several forms of hand sulphur dusters 

 are to be found on the market, though 

 the best I know of is manufactured in 

 France, by M. Vermorel, who has an 

 agency in Montreal. The sulphur from 

 this machine is thrown out with violence 

 by means of a current of air produced by a 

 valve bellows. The result is to cover the 

 whole vine with minute particles. This 

 machine, which is cheap, may also be 

 used to dust air-slaked lime on asparagus 

 or poisons in dust form on such plants as 

 require such application. 



The time of day to apply sulphur is of 

 little moment provided the weather is 

 suitable. It is less effective when applied 

 to vines wet with dew as the tendency of 

 the moisture is to gather the sulphur into 

 patches. Nor can sulphuring be done in 

 a high wind, though a light breeze will 

 aid the sulphur to penetrate to all parts 

 of the vine. 



the treatment should first be given 

 when the vines begin to open their blos- 

 soms — this seems to ensure a thorough 

 fertilization and consequent fine bunches 

 — and again when the fruit is the 

 size of buckshot. Two applications seem 

 to suffice as a rule, though some seasons 

 may be exceptional. I have always found 

 that these two applications are ef- 

 fective and will produce a fine quality 

 grape. 



SPRAYING 



Unless grapes are sprayed with Bor- 

 deaux, one must expect annual losses 

 from the rot, some seasons, and in some 

 varieties, to a serious extent. Spraying 

 with the 4-4-40 formula is effective if the 



