HOW RINGING AFFECTS 'GRAPES. 



Fig. 1600 (1) and (3). — Tools used in ringing grape vines ; (2) vine showing 

 ring of bark just removed ; (4) same at the close of the season. 



I SWINGING grape vines is prac- 

 ticed by many growers to 



secure earlier maturity and 

 larger bunches of grapes. A 

 ring of bark is removed from the bear- 

 ing arm between the main vine and the 

 buds which are to produce the fruit of 

 the season. This does not interfere 

 with the ascent of the sap, which passes 

 through the outer ring of undisturbed 

 wood ; but it does prevent the return of 

 the food which has been formed from 

 the sap in the leaves. Thus parts of the 

 branch above the ring can draw upon all 

 the food formed in the leaves of that 

 branch, none of it passing on to build 

 up the parent vine. Consequently the 

 overfed bunches grow faster and become 

 larger than their less favored mates ; but 

 the vine itself may suffer, and size may 

 be added and early maturity produced 

 at the expense of quality. 



Ringing is performed either with knife 

 or with tools like those shown in Fig. 

 1600, a band of bark about an inch 

 wide being removed. Since the ringing 



robs the plant, it must be done with 

 care to prevent permanent injury to the 

 vine by the continued drain. However, 

 by keeping the vines well fed, maintain- 

 ing a good supply of vigorous foliage 

 kept free from diseases and insects and 

 by modifying the method to suit the 

 system of training, vineyards which have 

 been ringed for ten or fifteen years have 

 been kept growing and still yield heavily. 

 In the two arm Kiffin system of train- 

 ing the ring is removed from each arm 

 beyond the fifth bud thus leaving ten 

 buds to furnish leaf surface to support 

 the vine ; in the four-arm system only 

 the two upper arms are ringed, leaving 

 the lower ones for foliage and fruit ; and 

 in the renewal system the ring is remov- 

 ed just beyond the renewal bud, so that 

 several shoots in the centre of the vine 

 supply it with necessary food. In any 

 system all fruit below the ring should be 

 removed as it will not ripen well, but 

 will uselessly draw food from the already 

 cheated vine. 



To test the process and its modifica- 



216 



