GRAPE PRUNING AND TRAINING 



303 



others remaining latent (55). If the vine is pruned so 

 as to leave only 50 to 75 buds therefore, the result will 

 probably be the same number of shoots, though doubt- 

 less from a somewhat different set of buds, because the 

 buds near the bases of the shoots rather than those nearer 

 the terminals will grow (55). Neither the quantity nor 

 the quality of the crop nor the vigor of the vine or its 

 shoots will show any conspicuous difference. 



Should the vine be pruned more severely, leaving only 

 25 or 30 buds, the number of shoots will, of course, .be 

 smaller. Hence the supply of stored food in root, trunk 

 and branches and the supply of crude sap from the un- 

 pruned roots will be distributed in larger quantities to the 

 shoots, which will thus grow more vigorously than they 

 would were there more of them. This smaller number 

 of large shoots will produce fully as great an area of leaf 

 surface as would the greater number of smaller shoots 

 on the unpruned vine, so the vigor of the vine will in no 

 way be impaired by the reduction in number. Similarly, 

 a smaller number, but larger-sized bunches and berries, 

 will be produced by the smaller number of large shoots; 

 so the total weight of the crop will be at least as great as 

 when the greater number of clusters and berries are 

 borne on the smaller but more numerous shoots. Indeed, 

 experience proves that size of both berry and cluster is 

 larger and weight of crop greater on pruned than on un- 



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FIG. 262 FAN SYSTEM, VINE AT VARIOUS AGES 



A, Unpruned vine in third year; B, pruned vine in fourth year; C, unpruned vine 

 in fourth year. 



