

GRAPE PRUNING AND TRAINING 337 



above the surface. Bench grafts are planted with the union 1 inch 

 above the surface. In the last case the soil must be hilled up so as 

 to cover the union. 



249. First growing season. The treatment during the first spring 

 and summer will depend on what growth the vines are expected to 

 make and on whether or not the vines are staked the first year. 



With cuttings and with both rooted vines and grafts where the 

 growt.h will be moderate, staking the first year is unnecessary, 

 though it has some slight advantages. In these cases, no pruning of 

 any kind is necessary until the winter following the planting, ex- 

 cept in the case of bench grafts, in which case the removal of the 

 suckers from the stock and roots from the cion is essential. If the 

 stocks have been well disbudded by the nurseryman, few suckers 

 will develop. In moist soil, the cion roots may develop vigorously 

 and must be removed before they grow too large, or they may pre- 

 vent the proper development of the resistant roots. 



The removal of roots should usually be done some time in July. 

 For this purpose the hill of soil is scraped away from the union and 

 after the cion roots and suckers are removed it is replaced. In this 

 second hilling up, the union should be barely covered so the soil 

 around the union will be dry and unfavorable to a second 

 growth of roots. Later in the season, about September, the soil 

 should be removed entirely from around the union and any new 

 roots that may have formed removed. The union is then left ex- 

 posed to harden and mature, so it will pass the winter without injury. 



If the main shoot is kept upright it will be easy to produce a well- 

 formed vine. In many cases no disbudding, thinning of shoots, or 

 topping need be done. The object is to have as abundant a growth 

 of foliage as possible in order to stimulate a vigorous and abundant 

 root development (21?,, a). In other cases, where very good, 

 rooted vines of vigorous varieties are planted in rich soil abundantly 

 supplied with water, it is desirable to disbud the vine early in order 

 to throw all its energies into the single main cane. In such cases 

 staking before or just after planting is necessary, and methods 

 similar to those described for the second season are used. 



250. First winter pruning. At the end of the first growing season, 

 an average good vine will have produced from three to five canes, 

 the longest of which will be 2 to 3 feet long. Soon after the leaves 

 have fallen in December or early in January the vines should be 

 pruned. The method is precisely similar to that used for rooted 

 vines before planting except that the main roots are not touched. 

 All the canes except one are removed. This one should be well 

 matured, at least at the base, and should have welt-formed eyes 

 only, two eyes of which are saved. It is well also to cut off all 

 shallow roots within 3 or 4 inches of the surface. This is nec- 

 essary in the case of grafted vines if any have escaped the summer 

 root-cutting. Some vines which may have made an exceptionally 

 large growth may sometimes possess a cane large enough from 



