Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in prior years (tie them, pinch off additional shoots, and push the canes through the double
positioning wires). Move the wires up the mid-posts as the canes grow.
Pinch off all the grapes on vines with smooth trunks or smooth cordons. Keep bunches
on vines that have bark covering the main trunk and cordons, as these will be the only ones
with grapes sweet enough to harvest. Generally, from 25 to 35 percent of the vines should
have grapes that are good enough to harvest. If you have had two full years of vine growth,
you may get more grapes, say 50 to 80 percent of vines. You will notice that the vines on
the outer part of your vineyard (particularly in larger vineyards) will be more mature than
the vines in the inner rows.
From early summer to late summer, you will see the shoots growing from the spurs
into canes. Continue to push the canes between the training wires, moving the wires up as
needed. Trim growth to 6 to 12 inches above the top training wires.
Pruning
Many of your vines will have well-established trunks and cordons with two canes each
from last year's spurs. From each spur, choose the strongest and tallest of the two canes
and prune it to two buds as the next spur. This is known as the renewal spur. Prune off the
other cane.
