78 



PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING 



pruner can decide in a general way beforehand how he 

 shall cut each cane in order to produce a given number 

 of bunches to the vine, a crop of a certain weight to the 

 acre, or of a certain quality. Seasonal conditions may alter 

 his calculations made at pruning time during winter, but 

 skillful pruners' calculations are close to the actual yields. 



FIG. 57 CHARACTERISTIC GRAPE SHOOT OF A LABRUSCA VARIETY 

 This shoot developed from an over-wintering bud. Note that a tendril is 

 opposite each leaf and that the lowest three of these tendrils have formed clusters 

 of fruit. Observe also that two of these are part cluster and part tendril. In the 

 axils of the leaves are buds which will form laterals. These rarely produce fruit 

 in the northeastern United States because the season is too short. 



Usually only two to five of the lower buds on the canes 

 produce clusters, but under favorable conditions shoots 

 produced in the axils of this year's leaves may develop 

 lateral canes which may produce and mature clusters of 

 fruits. In some cases this method may be again repeated 

 by secondary laterals produced on the first laterals, so 

 that in a sense a cane would bear three crops of grapes 

 during the same season. 



