Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The Kniffin system is one of the easiest for training grapes.
Ongoing pruning will be important to maintain fruit
production because grapes produce on the shoots that come
from one-year-old wood. So any shoots that arise from wood
that is more than one year old won't bear fruit. That means
that the horizontal shoots selected the first year should be
removed for the second year and new shoots from the trunk
trained along the wires.
The foregoing is not the final word on grape pruning and
training, as many other systems are available to those desiring
more information—but this should be enough to get you
started.
Grapes are prone to black rot and botrytis fungus, as well as
birds and deer. Because of the rot and fungal problems, it is
important to avoid sprinkler irrigation of grapes and practice
good sanitation by consistently removing old fruit and leaves
at the end of each season. A copper-based fungicide applied
at bloom time is most effective against rot and fungus.
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On a small scale, birds and deer can be foiled with netting; on
a larger scale, some creativity (such as noisemakers and
fencing) will be required. I grow my grapes far away from
