Calendar of Vineyard Operations Flashcards
What are the goals of pruning?
plan vine productivity
Limit the growth of the vine
Limit the number and size of shoots and buds
(from mid November to March)
When should you prune to limit frost risk?
late
How do you adjust the number of buds according to the vigor of a vine?
low vigor = less buds
high vigor = more buds
What is important in vine production planning?
Site (fertility, climate, regulations)
annual pest and disease pressure
level of mechanization/contraction
market
variety
When to plan vine production?
continuously
at purchase
at planning
at deciding trellising and pruning system
at pruning every year
after frost risk has passed
final adjustments (green pruning)
How can you manage yield, canopy, and root growth?
plant density
pruning
bud rubbing
shoot thinning
crop thinning
irrigation
rootstock
What decisions do you make when planting a vineyard?
Plan direction of rows: N-S
planting density
choice of trellising system (wood, metal, permanent)
plan pruning methods
What are planting methods?
tree-planting style
furrow
waterjet
augur
shovel and sweat
What are three pruning systems?
cane pruning (≥4 buds)
spur pruning (≤4 buds)
minimal pruning: mechanically cut all shoots around the head to leave whatever is there
What happens after pruning?
Pulling the shoots from the wire that are fixed by tendrils. For all pruning methods, except goblet, the one year old shoot is fixed to the wire.
What should you do if you have a large wound from pruning?
Cover the wound with a traditional sealant that inhibits oxidative processes, which will reduce callous formation and compartmentalization.
What health considerations should be thought about concerning pruning?
Don’t prune when it’s wet.
The optional pruning time for insect and disease prone species is in the fall or winter when temperature and infection rates are lower.
Use a sealant if you prune a disease-prone species when insects and fungi are active.
Ensure even sap flow which reduces the risk of trunk diseases.
Sterilize the pruning tools.
Prevent disease spread by disposing of contaminated organic material and use disease-free compost/mulch.
What is curetage?
When you cut rot out of a trunk.
What is involved in the maintenance of trellis systems?
Check all end posts
Check all posts
Replace mixing or broken posts.
Fix wires where needed
Replace individual wine supports for young vines if needed.
(The use of metal posts will reduce maintenance)
Why is grafting done?
- for resistance to phylloxera/nematodes/soil environment (pH issues, salinity, tolerance to poorly drained soils)
- Control vine size, vigor for what is appropriate according to planting density
Why is a certified nursery important?
They are graft nurseries that follow rigorous protocol that minimize health risks with success rates greater than 90%.
What is the organization in charge of vineyard nursery plants in France?
FranceAgrimer
How are plants produced in the nursery?
Wood is harvested from rootstock and scion
vines. The harvested wood (“grafted cuttings”)
have a diameter between 6 and 12mm
The scion and rootstock are grafted together and the wound is protected with wax.
These grafted cuttings are planted in a sterile
medium where they are grown for at least one
year
The now rooted cuttings of less than 14mm in
diameter are harvested and conditioned. The
scion will be cut back to just 1 or 2 buds
What are the main things grafted vines are checked for?
good rooting systems
good grafting union
enough buds on scion
free from all known viruses
free from trunk disease
What are two techniques for grafting?
Table grafting; Vine grafting or top grafting in the vineyard
What is table grafting?
Assembly of rootstock and scion by biological welding (mechanized operation). After the grafting point is waxed and it is left in hot, humid, dark room for 10 to 25 days.
When would you plant a traditional plant?
Autumn- risk of winter frost
or
Spring- to avoid waterlogged soil and to benefit from less stressful climatic conditions
When would you plant a potted plant?
Early summer or autumn- no problem of frost but it is necessary to water more (3to4 times if water is dry)
What is top grafting?
Grafting a new variety onto an existing older vine in order to change variety.
Preserves root system, trellis system
Vine must be in good health
Change variety in one year with crop loss
For vineyard sampling, would you stay with the same chosen vines?
yes
Why are summer (green) operations important?
To balance the leaf/fruit ratio?
What are the summer (green) operations?
bud rubbing, frost protection, shoot thinning, wire lifting, trimming, irrigation, leaf plucking, hail protection, bird protection, crop or fruit thinning, herbicide and fungicide spraying
What is the importance of bud rubbing?
Regulate load and balance the leaf/fruit ratio
Decrease crowding of the foliage
Facilitates winter pruning
Do it after risk of spring frosts
What is the purpose of shoot thinning?
Open up canopy (for the risk of late blight and botrytis)
Decrease in wounds (for risk of wood diseases)
Facilitates winter pruning and the operations of lifting, trellising, and harvesting
Do early to mid-summer.
If you do it too early, you get regrowth.
If you do it too late, it is more difficult.
Why would you keep a sucker?
To grow a new vine or bring down the head of a vine
What is the importance of wire lifting?
To maintain the canopy in the vertical plane.
For interception of light by leaves.
Aeration and cluster illumination.
Facilitates passage of tractors and machinery.
Late May to early July (1 or 2 times)
What is the importance of trimming?
To improve spray coverage
Reduce susceptibility to diseases
Facilitate passage of tractors
carbohydrate partitioning towards inflorescences
Reducing evapotranspiration (from effects of drought)
For vineyard blocks sensitive to colour, do around late flowering. For other vineyard blocks, do as late as posssible.
What are type of irrigation?
flood irrigation
over-head irrigation
drip irrigation
sub-surface irrigation
What are the most important phases for sufficient water availability?
Flowering and veraison
What is the importance of leaf removal around the clusters?
For the effect on microclimate and maturation of clusters: temperature, aeration, sunshine
Improved synthesis of polyphenols in red wine and thiol aromas in white wine.
To save time for manual harvesting
To decrease the risk of botrytis and powdery mildew
Do early (fruit set)(progressive exposition limits risk of scalding)
Do late (near maturity)(saves 30% of time for manual harvesting)
How can you mechanically remove leaves?
Aspiration, forced air, burning
What is the importance of fruit thinning/green harvest?
To improve leaf/fruit ratio
Limit clustering of bunches and botrytis
Do it after fruit set and until veraison
What are the consequences of fruit thinning?
Due to the compensation formula (the remaining berries grow larger), the yields do not decrease in the same proportions as the elimination of the clusters
If you have recurring fruit thinning, what is your problem?
You have a problem of vigor
What are two types of fruit thinning?
Punctual: in connection with the flower initiation of the previous year or very good conditions of flowering and fruit set
Recurrent: a problem of vigor
What can harvest be based on?
Testing:
berry tasting
maturity checks
technological maturity
phenolic maturity
health status of the crop
weather conditions
concerning winery capacity
respect for the specifications of the appellation
What are the positives of manual harvesting?
- can sort in the vineyard
- opportunity to remove diseased bunches
- the rachis stays connected so there is minimum free run juice
- very detailed picking of blocks
- less sorting in already congested winery
- possibility to do whole bunch pressing
- no need to purchase harvester
- simple logistics
What are the negatives of hand harvesting?
slow, expensive, difficult to find staff when needed, destemming is needed at winery, ergonomically difficult as vines are low
What are the positives of machine harvesting?
fast, modern machines maintain fruit quality, comfortable, few staff needed
What are the negatives of machine harvesting?
fruit will not be as good as hand harvested
high money lay-out
depend on contractors to show up when needed
high quality staff needed
more complex/expensive logistics for transporting fruit
more oxidation (need sulfur)
What is the goal of soil quality maintenance?
control weeds
improve soil structure
improve water supply
improve the mineralization of OM
What is the objective of fertilization?
to master vigor of vine and achieve desired balance between canopy, yield, and quality
How can you assess the needs for fertilization?
soil analyses
foliar and petiolar analyses at flowering or veraison
foliage observation
What is most important for vineyard operations?
To be in the vineyard on a regular basis to see what is happening and even more important is to take good records.
What happens when you remove surface roots?
You force the roots to go deeper
