NH - Unit 2 - Vineyard Establishment - Trellis systems Flashcards
How were vines planted before and after the phylloxera epidemic?
before
- very close together
- random arrangement
- untrellised or trellised on individual stakes
- worked by hand
after
- straight lines toe enable cultivation using animals and subsequently tractors
What is a trellis?
- a physical structure consisting of posts and wires that largely supports the grapevine framework (canes, shoots, folliage)
When choosing a trellis system for a particular site which are the factors to consider?
-legislation
controlled in PDO regulations
-geographical features of the site
topography, wind exposure, rainfall, temperature, frost risk, soil fertility
-effectiveness of light interception
total canopy surface / ha
-cost and time of establishment
posts, wire, plants
-cost and time of maintenance
pruning, shoot positioning
-mechanisation potential
spraying, harvest, pruning
-popularity and attractiveness
Why would vineyard managers use several trellis systems within one vineyard?
For instance, at the bottom of a slope, a higher trellis may be used to reduce frost risk
Other names for untrellised vines?
Bush or free-standing vine
Common locations for untrellised vines?
Still common in southern Europe
How is un untrellised vine trained?
The vine trunk is trained short, no trellis
How are untrellised vine pruned?
usually spur-pruned => bush vines or gobelets
can be cane-pruned by tying the canes together to form a “basket” => Santorini, Greece
What are the advantages of untellised vines?
- least expensive way of growing a vine
- foliage can offer some bunch shade in warmer Mediterranean climate
- canopy management costs are relatively low
What are the drawbacks of untellised vines?
- low yields due to the low planting density
- un-trellissed vines have been found to be more prone to disease due to less air circulation through canopy
- vineyards operations & harvest must be done by manually
What are staked vines?
The vines are tied to a post (often wood) (driven into the ground next to the vine) for support.
How are staked vines trained / pruned?
- In a crown (head) 20 - 30 cm above the ground and 2 - 4 canes are fixed to the stake
- spur-pruned, without a distinct crown, with the bearers radiating from the trunk in a circular shape
What are the advantages of stake vines compared to bush vines?
- Can be trained higher than bush vines (simplifies vineyard operations)
- Canopy can be positioned to allow greater air circulation which reduces disease risk
What are the drawbacks of stake vines?
Low density planting
Lower yield potential
Not suitable to high vigour site
Common locations for staked vines?
- Côte Rôtie, Southern France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Italy
- California
- South Africa
What is the advantage of the simple wire system over bush vines?
- forming a continuous row of foliage
What is the general advantage of the single wire system?
- relatively inexpensive to install and train
How are single wired vines trained / pruned?
- cordon-trained and spur pruned
- trunk usually divided 15 cm bellow the wire
- permanent horizontal cordon established
- head trained and cane pruned
- crown established below the wire
- up to 4 canes of 10 to 15 nodes fixed or wrapped along the wire
- 2 to 4 2-node replacement spurs
What is the main drawback of the single wire trellis system?
How is it solved?
- new shoots often hang down
- offering no protection to the fruit from sunburn
- solved by : designing multiple wire trellis systems which have a foliage wire to train the shoots upwards.
Common locations for two-wire vertical?
widely used troughout the world
widely adopted in California in mid 80ies => Califoria sprawl
Decribe two-wire vertical
- A single fruiting wire
- above this a single foliage wire 0,3 - 0,5 m
Can be suited to mechanical pruning and harvesting (depending on the canopy)
High vigour sites => lot of vegetative growth => more wires required
- to keep foliage of the ground
to aid canopy management operations
Common locations of vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis?
- France
- Germany
- cooler regions of Australia and New Zealand.
VSP is an example of?
non-divided canopy
Where was the VSP adopted?
In places where there is a high risk of fungal disease, in order to keep foliage off the ground, and to simplify spraying and trimming operations.
Describe VSP trellis?
- Consists of movable foliage wires which enable shoots to be trained into a narrow vertical canopy
How are VSP trellis pruned?
- cane-pruned (traditional Guyot)
- spur pruned on unilateral or bi-lateral cordons
Advantages of VSP and its pruning styles?
- all the fruit is in one zone and shoot tips in another
- simplifies mechanical operations (leaf removal, bunch zone spraying, summer trimming)
- vines can be harvested by machine
- can be converted to machine winter pruning
Main disadvantage of VSP?
- shoot density is normally high => prone to shade
- unsuited to high vigour varieties and high vigour sites
- complex trellis systems have been developed to cope with moderate to high vigour sites.
Give examples of vertical, divided trellis
For which sites are they suited?
- Scott-Henry
- Smart-Dyson
Suited for moderate potential sites
Where was the Scott-Henry system developed and trialed?
- developed in Oregon
- trialed in New Zealand and Australia
Describe the Scott-Henry system?
- vertical, divided system
- two fruiting wires at 1 m and 1,15 m
- shoots on higher wire are trained up between two movable foliage wires
- bottom foliage is positioned downwards with (generally) one foliage wire
- canopy about 2 m tall
- row spacing needs to be 2 m (to prevent shading)
- was developed for cane pruning
- widely adopted (new world) due to suitability for machine harvesting
- superseded by the Smart-Dyson system
Describe the Smart-Dyson system
- vertical, divided system
- aka Ballerina system
- cordon trained
- upward and downward pointing spurs
enables pruning by machine
What are the 3 principal advantages of the vertical divided systems over VSP?
- -canopy surface area is increased by about 60%
- gives the system a higher increased potential for photosynthesis and yields.
- -shoot density is almost halved
- canopy is less dense,
- fruit exposure is increased
- decrease in disease.
- -there is a de-vigorating effect as half of shoots are trained downwards.
What are the drawbacks of the vertical divided system?
- higher establishment costs
- greater level of expertise needed
Give examples of multi-wired, horizontal systems?
For what soils are they designed?
- Geveva double curtain
- U- or lyre system
- overhead pergola system
designed for high vigour soils
Describe the Geneva double curtain trellis (GDC)
- a horizontally divided trellis
- shoots trained downwards.
- The curtains are supported at the top and are free hanging.
- Curtains are at least 1 m apart, shoots at least 1 m in length
Why was the Geneva double curtain system designed?
- to improve yield & fruit composition in vigorous soil.
- The divided canopy led to a reduction in shading
- the downward pointing shoots meant that the basal buds & fruit were exposed to greater amount of sunlight.
- these factors were found to produce higher yields of better quality grapes
Explain pruning and harvesting in the Geneva double curtain system :
- spur pruned
- machine harvesting
What is the advantage of the downward shoot positioning of the GDC compared to VSP?
- downward shoot positioning causes desirable shoot devigoration
- GDC can convert dense, shaded canopies to low density ones, with more than 50 % yield increases obtained compared to VSP.
What are the main drawbacks of GDC?
- -expense of the materials
- the expertise required to train the vines.
Common location of GDC?
- AU
- California
- some part of Italy
Where was the U of Lyre system developed?
Fance
Where was the U of Lyre system adopted?
- California
- New Zealand
- cool regions of Australia, Chili and Uruguay
For what sites was the U of Lyre system developed?
- medium to high vigour sites
Describe the U of Lyre system?
- a horizontally divided trellis
- shoots trained upwards in two curtains.
- shape resembles a lyre
Explain pruning and harvesting with the U or Lyre system?
- can be readily machine pre-pruned
- a French machine harvester has specially been developed for this trellis system
What is the disadvantage of the U or Lyre trellis?
- -The centre of “ U” need to be kept open to ensure good leaf and fruit exposure
- -shoots need to be positioned correctly & continually trimmed.
- -high cost of construction & maintenance
Common locations of Pergola / tendone trellis
- Chile
- Argentine
- Italy
- now more common for table grapes
Describe the pergola training system
- trained with trunks about 2 m high
- a system of wooden frames and cross wires supports the foliage and fruit
- framework is usualy high enough for tractors to pass underneath
Describe pruning in the U or Lyre system
either cane or spur pruned
Why is the pergola training system limited in use?
- High cost in construction
- high labour costs to maintain
*
Can a pergola system be used in high vigour sites? explain
Yes but
- canopy needs to be thinned to avoid
- shading problems
- increased risk of powdery mildew and botrytis
What trellis system is this?
U or Lyre trellis
What trellis system is this?
Geneva double curtain trellis or GDC
What trellis system is this?
The Scott Henry trellis system
What trellis system is this?
The Smart - Dyson trellis sytem
What trellis system is this?
The vertical shoot positioning trellis
What trellis system is this?
Two wire vertical trellis
