1. 1. Vine Propagation Flashcards
What are the main types of vine propagation in modern Viticulture?
- Cuttings
2. Layering
Define a cutting.
A cutting is a section of a vine shoot that is planted and then grows as a new plant.
Why cutting is the most common propagation technique? What are the advantages?
- many small cuttings can be taken from a vine and propagated at the same time;
- it permits the use of rootstocks, which can easily be grafted onto the vine cutting before it is planted;
- nurseries are able to treat vine cuttings to avoid spread of diseases.
What’s layering?
Layering is a method of filling gaps in a vineyard (e.g. due to the death of a vine) by using shoots from an established neighbouring vine to produce a new vine.
Describe the layering technique.
A cane is bent down and a section of it is buried in the ground. The tip of the cane points up out of the ground. The section that is buried takes root.
When is the cane linking the new growth to the original plant cut?
Once new roots are established, the cane linking the new growth to the original plant is cut.
What’s the main disadvantage of layering?
The new vine grows on its own roots, not those of a rootstock, so it will have no protection against phylloxera or have the qualities (such as the desired yield) that a choice of rootstocks offers.
What kind of vines cutting and layering techniques produce?
They create new plants that are usually genetically identical to the parent plant, and have the same characteristics.
Why is seed propagation NOT used in Viticulture?
Vines that grow through seeds are not genetically identical to the parent vines and although they can show similar characteristics to their parents, more often they are notably different.
What causes diversity within the vines of the same grape variety?
Random mutations in the genetic code.
The new vine may have slightly different characteristics
What is a vine clone? Give an example.
It’s a vine genetically identical to the parent vine, with slightly different characteristics occurring due to mutations.
Pinot Noir is a grape variety with many clones:
• Pinot Noir Clone 115 has low yields of small grapes, making it suited to high quality red wine production.
• By comparison, Pinot Noir Clone 521 has higher yields of bigger grapes, making it better suited to sparkling wine production. This is because high concentrations of tannins and colour from the skins are not needed in these wines.
What is clonal selection? What is it used for?
Selecting a SINGLE plant with the most favorable characteristics for propagation by cuttings.
When can a new grape variety appear? Give an example.
Due to significant mutation.
For example, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are all mutations of the grape variety Pinot.
What are advantages and disadvantages of clonal selection?
+ If all of the vines grow in a similar way and ripen grapes at the same time as each other, management of the vineyard becomes simpler.
- there is less diversity in the fruit and hence potentially producing a wine with less complexity and balance
- It also makes the vineyard more susceptible to disease
Define mass selection?
Cuttings from SEVERAL different vines.
The best-performing vines are selected (e.g. those that consistently yield fruit with the desired characteristics.
