PRUNING 225 



The vines of each variety should be planted together and 

 as soon as the planting is completed a record should be made 

 which will show the location of all the vines of each variety. 



Cultivation. The cultivation of the grape should begin 

 soon after the vines are planted. The tillage should be 

 shallow enough so as not to strike the roots. The vineyards 

 should be kept free from weeds. During the first two years 

 some hoed crop can be grown between the rows which will be 

 a benefit to the plants by shading them. After a year or two 

 the vines will need all of the room. The narrow strips left 

 along the rows should be cleaned out with the hoe. A one- 

 horse cultivator will usually be the most economical for 

 cultivating between the rows. 



The cultivation should stop when the fruit begins to weigh 

 down the vines. As soon as the crop has been harvested, the 

 cultivator should be run down the middle of the rows and the 

 ground sown to some cover crop. Crimson clover or cow 

 peas seem to serve this purpose well, although rye, buck- 

 wheat and hairy vetch are sometimes used. 



Pruning. The pruning and the training of the grape to a 

 definite system usually go together. It is necessary to follow 

 a uniform method of pruning in order to train the vine to a 

 certain system. It requires judgment as well as knowledge 

 of the vine. When the vines are in a vigorous condition the 

 pruning and the training becomes almost optional with the 

 grower, although there is no doubt that certain varieties of 

 grapes do the best when trained to a certain system. 



In pruning the grape the relationship of the wood to 

 fruit bearing should be thoroughly understood. The pruner 

 must keep in mind that the fruit of any year is borne near the 

 base of shoots of the same year, which spring either from the 

 canes of the preceding year or from older wood. 



Since each shoot bears from two to three clusters of fruit, 

 only two or three buds should be left on the cane of the 

 previous year's growth. Usually two or more canes are 

 selected on one or two of the main stems. Good pruning, 

 then, means removing all wood except canes sufficient to 

 furnish the shoots necessary for the desired number of clusters. 



The time for the pruning of the grapes varies somewhat 

 15 



