55 



NOTES ON GRAPE VINES. 



Disbudding and Stopping Vines. 



By W. J. Thompson of the Department of Public Gardens and 



Plantations. 



As soon as the j r oung growths of the vine are about three or four in- 

 ches long, disbudding should be attended to, or part of the energy of the 

 plants is wasted on growth that has to be removed to prevent overcrowd- 

 ing. 



Young vines grown for field culture should be disbudded to one growth. 

 Those on trellises may be disbudded to one, two, three or four growths 

 as the grower may think fit. 



In old vines, main growths can be left from one to an unlimited num- 

 ber as the case may be ; but great care must be taken to prevent over- 

 crowding of the main growths. 



The first thing to decide in disbudding vines on arbours or trellises is 

 the extreme growth or growths. At this eye cut off all growths but the 

 best one ; and the one left is to form the leading growth of that cane ; 

 then work down the stem of the vine, on this wood will be formed the 

 fruiting canes or side growths. One good growth should be left about 

 every 15 inches apart to form fruiting canes, all the other growths should 

 be rubbed off. There cannot be any hard and fast rule for the distance be- 

 tween the growths, e. g., if there is about 20 in. of main cane without 

 a growth then there are say two growths about 6 in. apart, leave both ; 

 endeavour to arrange so that the main cane has a fruiting branch about 

 every 12 or 15 in. apart. It may seem a waste to some to cut off about 

 four-fifths of the growths, but if this is not done there will be formed a 

 mass of such growths and not one good one among them. If good wood 

 is not secured it is impossible to get fruit. 



As soon as disbudding has been done the fruiting or side canes will 

 soon have made growth with seven or eight leaves. As soon as these 

 growths have made about seven leaves they should be stopped ; this is 

 done by pinching out the growing point at about the seventh leaf ; if no 

 point appears at this stage there will be none this spring, but the vine 

 may fruit a little later on the sublateral growths. 



If it should happen that there is not any fruit on this vine when ii 

 has made its spring growth it will need just as much attention in the 

 way of stopping, taking off sublateral growth, &c, as if it were bearing 

 a crop. Next year's crop depends on the quality and condition of the 

 wood grown and ripened this year. 



I have had several complaints from gentlemen that their vines have 

 not shown any fruit this year. I have examinod several vines and in all 

 cases I found that with the heavy rains in the autumn of 1893, the 

 vines had made a lot of superfluous growths, all these had been allowed 

 to remain on the vine so the overcrowding of foliage prevented the fruit- 

 ing wood — that should have been — from being properly ripened, hence 

 no fruit. Demonstrations on ripe and unripe wood will be given in the 

 autumn. 



