Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
grapes. If you do plant a vigorous grapevine, consider a wider spacing, such as 7 or 8 feet.
Similarly, vines with less vigor may need to be planted with a closer spacing to achieve
sufficient fruit yields.
ROOTSTOCK QUALITIES
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Vigor
: Encourages the vine to produce more or less vegetative growth (leaves) and
fruit.
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Hardiness
: Makes the vine able to withstand a greater amount of winter cold.
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Ripening
: Reduces or lengthens the number of days needed to ripen the fruit. Soil
adaptation: Allows a vine to grow in soils with particular characteristics, such as
extremes of pH (alkalinity or acidity).
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Diseases and Pests
: Makes a variety resistant to certain soil-borne diseases or in-
sects, especially nematodes and phylloxera.
You can get a wide selection of rootstocks and varieties in several different forms.
Grafting is the process of joining the scion to the rootstock, which may be done either in
the field (field-grafted) or in the greenhouse (bench-grafted). I am going to suggest you get
either a green-growing or dormant bench-grafted vine. I have had very good experience
with these kinds of vines as have many other growers, both commercial and amateur.
