1384 



GRAPE 



GRAPE 



1733. The canes of a vinifera grape 

 before pruning. 



bud cutting of vinifera on a 9- to 12-inch resistant 

 cutting from which the buds have been removed. 

 This graft is united in a callusing bed, rooted in the 

 nursery and planted out in place when one year old. 

 The resistant stock is often first rooted in the vineyard 



and grafted in place 

 when one or two 

 years old. This 

 method is uncertain 

 and gives many 

 poor unions except 

 with a few stocks 

 and in very expert 

 hands. 



The soil should 

 be plowed as deeply 

 as practicable be- 

 fore planting. The 

 best vineyardists 

 turn the soil 9 to 

 12 inches, often fol- 

 lowing with a sub- 

 soiler penetrating 6 

 or 8 inches deeper. 

 This treatment re- 

 sults in a more 

 complete "stand," 

 quicker develop- 

 ment and full bear- 

 ing at three to five years. It is especially useful for 

 grafted vines. 



Resistant stocks. 



The principal phylloxera-resistant stock grown is the 

 rupestris St. George (=du Lot). It succeeds in a 

 wide variety of soils providing they are deep, permeable 

 and well supplied with water below. In shallow, com- 

 pact or very wet soils it often fails. It forms good unions 

 with most of the common vinifera varieties. Exceptions 

 seem to be, in some localities, Emperor, Cornichon and 

 Muscat. For the shallower soils of the coast counties, 

 riparia x rupestris 3309 is to be recommended; for 

 stiff clay soils, Berlandieri x rupestris 420 A; for rich, 

 moist, well-drained soils in the cooler locations, riparia 

 gloire de Montpellier. For varieties of difficult affinity 

 the Mourvedre x rupestris 1202 is promising in soils 

 similar to those suited to St. George. 



Pruning and thinning. 



It must be recognized that the vinifera grapes have 

 a different habit of growth from the native grapes 

 grown in the East. They are not always trained on 

 wire trellises. The old trunk (Fig. 1732) is short and 

 stump-like and supports itself. The cane-growth (Fig. 

 1733) is relatively short, and it is cut back to near the 

 head of the trunk, as shown in Fig. 1732, and also in 

 Fig. 1734. 



In the first year, the vines need no attention except 

 thorough cultivation and one or two irrigations in dry 

 sections. In the following winter, the dormant growth 

 is thinned to one cane which is cut back to one or at 

 most two buds. The vines should then be staked. Red- 

 wood stakes, 3 to 4 feet long and 1^ inches thick, are 

 the best, placed 2 inches from the vine on the leeward 

 Bide. These are sufficient for the goblet system of 

 training, but longer stakes may be necessary when 

 canes are left at pruning. 



During the second year, all buds or shoots but one 

 should be removed before they have made any con- 

 siderable growth. The whole energy of the vine is thus 

 forced into a single shoot which should be carefully 

 tied to the stake and, if vigorous, topped at about 3 

 feet to cause it to produce laterals. All suckers from 

 below ground should be carefully removed at their 

 origin and also any cion roots which may develop on 

 grafts. At the second winter pruning, all canes but one 



should be cut off clean if more than one has been 

 allowed to grow. This cane should then be cut back to 

 the height at which it is desired to "head" the vine, 

 which will be about 15 inches for small-growing vines 

 such as Zinfandel and 24 to 30 inches for heavy-grow- 

 ing vines such as Flame Tokay. Table grapes, as a rule, 

 are headed higher than wine or raisin grapes. When 

 strong laterals have developed, these should be left 

 with one or two buds when they occur in positions where 

 it is desired to develop arms. 



In the third year, no shoots should be allowed 

 to develop on the trunk of the vine within 8 to 15 

 inches of the soil, according to the height of the head. 

 It is usually necessary to pinch back all the shoots 

 from the head when they are 15 to 18 inches long to 



Erptect them from wind injury while they are still 

 rittle. At the end of this year, the vine should have 

 developed sufficiently so that it can be given three 

 to six spurs in the positions desired for the permanent 

 arms. These spurs should consist of two to four buds, 

 the more vigorous the vine the more spurs and the 

 more buds. 



In the future prunings, the number of spurs is grad- 

 ually increased until the vine reaches its adult stature. 

 The number will vary from four or five to fifteen or 

 twenty, according to the vigor of the variety and the 

 distance apart of the vines. During the first four or 

 five years, great attention should be given to forming 

 the vine with a clean vertical trunk and symmetrically 

 placed arms and also, with grafted vines, to the care- 

 ful removal of stock suckers and cion roots. As the 

 vines become older and less vigorous, the spurs left at 

 the annual winter pruning should be shorter, consist- 

 ing usually of only one or two complete joints. 



This method of pruning, illustrated by Fig. 1734, is 

 known as the vase or goblet method and is adopted in 

 most of the vineyards of California. A few varieties, 

 notably the Sultanina (=Thompson Seedless) do not 

 bear satisfactory crops with this method. For such 

 varieties the treatment for the first three or four years 

 is the same, but at that time it is necessary to erect a 

 trellis. This consists usually of two No. 11 or No. 12 

 galvanized iron wires stretched along the rows at about 

 18 and 36 inches from the surface of the soil. These 

 wires are supported by redwood stakes 6 feet long and 

 about 2 inches in diameter. The vines are then pruned 

 by leaving a suitable number of "fruiting canes" about 

 4 to 6 feet long, which are tied to the wires. Near and 

 below the base of each fruiting cane is left a "renewal 





7734. The common short-pruning goblet system used for the 

 vinifera grape in California. 



spur" consisting of two buds, whose function is to 

 supply a fruit-cane and renewal spur for the following 

 year. Care should be exercised to choose fruit-canes 

 which originate from the spurs of the previous year and 

 not from older wood. The vines, instead of being 

 given the symmetrical goblet form described, should 



