MANAGING THE SOIL 



507 



Conditions differ from those in orchards. For the vineyard 

 the cover crop must grow quickly and preferably lodge or fall 

 of its own weight before picking time, and it must not grow 

 high enough to reduce seriously air movement about the fruit. 

 Such a reduction encourages the development of fungus dis- 

 eases and delays the maturing of the fruit. 



A crop that lives over winter has some obvious advantages, 

 but it must be one that can be turned under or w^orked in by 

 shallow plowing and cultivation. One difficulty with rye is 

 that it grows so rapidly in the spring that it may get out of 

 bounds in this regard. 



Soy beans, sown in middle July, have given excellent results 

 in some New York vineyards. Buckwheat (Fig. 197) , oats, rye, 

 winter vetch, and millet are worth consideration. The clovers 

 often will not catch in a dry season, the time is too short for a 

 good stand, and the seed cost is high. A mixture of 1 bushel of 

 rye and 20 pounds of vetch is often used and is satisfactory if 

 plowed under early in the spring. 



Broadcasting by hand or with a cyclone seeder insures com- 

 plete coverage, but if the cover crop is one that lives over 

 winter, it will be easier to turn it under at the proper time if 

 seeded with a drill, keeping a foot or so away from the rows. 

 If the crop does not go down of its own accord at harvest, drag 

 or roll it down while wet to get it out of the way of the 

 pickers. 



An auxiliary effect of the cover crop that is often important 

 is its influence in hastening maturity of vine and fruit through 

 cutting down on the supply of moisture available to the vines. 

 It also reduces erosion of the soil on slopes and uneven ground, 



(d) Fertilizing the Vines. Fertilizers should be applied 

 when sufficient vine growth and fruit production are not secured 

 without them. In many of the commercial grape regions of 

 the northeastern United States, satisfactory vine growth and 

 production are secured, especially on the heavier and more 

 fertile soils, without the addition of commercial fertilizers or 

 manure. On the lighter, sandy, or gravelly soils, profitable re- 



