Vineyard Management Flashcards
What are downy and powdery mildews?
Fungi that thrive in warm, humid environments
Affect green parts of vine (including leaves and grapes)
Grapes lose fruity flavor and get a moldy bitter taint
What is green harvesting?
Act of removing immature grapes shortly after veraison
Done to reduce yields if they look to be too high
If done at wrong time, vines will compensate by increasing the sizes of the grapes
- Yields return to original size
- Flavor in remaining grapes is diluted
What is vine training? Describe both types.
Shaping the permanent wood of the vine
Head training - vines with relatively little perm. wood, either a trunk or trunk + few short arms.
Can be spur pruned or replacement cane pruned.
Cordon training - vines with trunk + perm. horizontal arms (“cordons”). Allows mechanization to be easier.
Usually spur pruned.
What are the two types of winter pruning?
Spur pruning: short sections of one year old wood cut down to 2-3 buds.
Replacement cane pruning: longer sections of one year old wood that have 8-20 buds.
Usually only 1-2 canes are retained.
Also called “Guyot” training.
What are “coulure” and “millerandage”?
Coulure: condition where more flowers than normal fail to fertilize
Millerandage: grapes forming without seeds and remaining small
Both reduce yields and stem from cold, cloudy, or rainy weather during pollination period
How do viruses affect vines?
Most don’t kill the vine
Limit the vine’s ability to function + reduce yield and quality
Spread via cuttings and nematodes
If vine is infected, digging up vine and sanitizing area is only solution
How do bacterial infections affect vines?
Can kill the vine
Mainly just reduce grape quality and quantity
Spread by sharpshooters
Can be prevented with quarantine & interrupting the lifecycle of sharpshooters
If vine is infected, digging up vine and sanitizing area is only solution
When is low-density planting favorable?
When is high-density planing favorable?
Low density: areas with limited water availability
High density: areas with high levels of nutrients
What is a trellis?
Permanent structure of stakes and wires used to support replacement canes and the vines annual growth
What are nematodes?
Microscopic worms that attack the roots of vines
Interfere with water and nutrient uptake
Can also transmit vine viruses
Prevention is bitter than cure
What is grey rot?
Fungus botrytis cinerea
Called “noble rot” when used beneficially for white grapes
Taints flavor and leads to color loss in black grapes
Describe sustainable, organic, and biodynamic agriculture.
Sustainable: Use of man-made chemicals is restricted (not prohibited). Use integrated pest management + non-monoculture farming
Organic: Only small selection and quantity of traditional treatments allowed. Accreditation is required, but laws very. All must go through conversion period to become “organic”.
Biodynamic: Organic practices + philosophy and cosmology . Certification bodes exist. Homeopathic remedies (preparations) fertilize soil, treat disease, and ward off pests.
Describe an untrellised vineyard. What are the benefits?
If no trellis, shoots hang down (often to ground). These are called bush vines and are typically head-trained and spur-pruned.
Suited for warm - hot, dry, sunny regions. Shade protects grapes.
Not suited for cool and wet regions. Impedes ripening and lack of airflow promotes disease. Also unsuited for mechanical harvesting.
Describe a trellised vineyard. What are the benefits?
Exposes grapes to more sunlight (i.e. in areas with limited sun)
Improves air circulation to avoid disease
Aids in mechanization and spraying of insecticides/fungicides
Most common system is VSP.
Can be used with cane- or spur-pruned vines.
What is “VSP”? What are the benefits?
Vertical shoot positioning
Shoots are trained vertically and tied to trellis, creating single narrow canopy.
In hot regions the tops of the shoots can be (not always) tied and flopped over to create shade.
