UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



-COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE E. j. WICKSON, ACTING DIRECTOR 



BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 



CIRCULAR No. 26 



(SEPTEMBER, 1906.) 



SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF VINE-CUTTINGS. 



BY 



FEEDEEIC T. BIOLETTI. 



One of the most important factors in determining the profitableness 

 of a vineyard is the choice of the cuttings which are used to start the 

 vineyard. This factor is very generally neglected, or when a choice is 

 made it is often not the best. 



Any one who will carefully examine the vines in a vineyard cannot 

 help being struck with the great variation in the amount of crop on 

 different individual vines. Sometimes this variation can be traced to 

 differences in pruning, to accidental injuries, to more or less irrigation, 

 or to variations in soil and position. There is, however, a good deal of 

 variation which cannot be ascribed to any of these causes and which 

 exists in every vineyard, no matter how uniform the conditions or how 

 careful the cultivation. 



This variation is something which is inherent in the vine and can- 

 not be overcome by any cultural method. It is much greater in some 

 varieties than in others. With some varieties it is so great that certain 

 vines are recognized as almost sterile and are commonly called ' ' mule ' ' 

 vines in California. With other varieties the variation is much less 

 noticeable, but is none the less real, and by weighing the crop of each 

 vine in a row it will be found, even with the most uniform producers, 

 to exceed 50 per cent. If every vine in the vineyard bore as much as 

 the vine with the heaviest crop the total production of the vineyard 

 would be much increased. By grafting the poor bearers with cuttings 

 from the best bearers the crop in a vineyard' has been more than dou- 

 bled. Vineyards of unselected Cabernet produce on the average about 

 two tons to the acre. Cabernet vineyards from carefully selected cut- 

 tings have produced nine tons. 



Owing to the great natural fertility of most of our Californian 

 vineyards, due to favorable soil and climate, these facts have not re- 

 ceived the attention they deserve. In most parts of Europe, and even 

 in South Africa, more care is taken in the selection of cuttings than 

 here. lii many vineyards the vines bearing the best crops are marked 

 and cuttings taken only from these. In others only those cuttings are 

 used which are made from bearing wood; that is, from canes which 

 have borne grapes, as shown by the remains of the bunch stalks, or by 

 the position of the cane on the vine. 



