524 VINIFERA GRAPE TRAINING 



ter attained by appropriate methods of planting 

 and training. Early topping is inadvisable be- 

 cause it induces a vigorous growth of laterals, 

 which make too dense a shade, and it may even 

 force the main eyes to sprout, and thus injure the 

 wood for the next year. The legitimate function 

 of topping is to direct the flow of food material 

 in the vine first into the fruit, and second into 

 the buds for the growth of the following year. 

 If the topping is done while the vine is in active 

 growth, this object is not attained ; one growing 

 tip is simply replaced by several. In this way, in 

 rich, moist soils vines are often, by repeated top- 

 pings, kept in a continual state of production of 

 new shoots, and as these new shoots consume 

 more food than they produce, the crop suffers. 

 Not only does the crop of the current year suffer, 

 but still more the crop of the following year, for 

 the vine devotes its energy to producing new 

 shoots in the autumn instead of storing up reserve 

 food -material for the next spring growth. If, on 

 the other hand, the topping is done after all leaf 

 growth is over for the season, the only effect is 

 to deprive the vine of so much food -absorbing 

 surface. 



The topping, then, should be so timed that, 

 while a further lengthening of the main shoot 

 is prevented, no excessive sprouting of new lat- 

 erals is produced. The exact time differs for 

 locality, season and variety, and must be left 



