Vineyard Management Flashcards
What a natural ways water drains in a vineyard?
Runs off surface Taken up by plant roots Absorbed into ports in soil particles Evaporates from soil surface Drains down through soil
What are artificial ways to improve drainage?
Improve soil structure (add manure, organic matter, sand, grit, lime) Dig ditches Install drainage pipes Mole drainage Sub-soiling
What are the points of difference between fixed overhead sprinkler and under-canopy systems?
Potential for frost protection (fixed overhead sprinkler is suitable with correct design and under-canopy is not)
Limited rate of supply (fixed overhead sprinkler is not suitable and under-canopy is with correct design
Water salinity (fixed overhead is not tolerant and under-canopy is)
What are the points of difference between under-canopy systems and drip?
Potential for frost prevention through soil wetting (under-canopy is suitable and drip is not)
Limited total water supply (under-canopy is rarely suitable and drip is)
What are the advantages to flood or furrow compared to sprinkler and drip systems?
Capital and operating cost is low
Interval between irrigations is larger
[Few problems with water cleanliness]
What is the main advantage of replacement cane pruning?
Vine vigour is controlled by limiting carb reserves
What is the main disadvantage of replacement cane pruning?
Technique requires skill and cannot be mechanized
What is bud rubbing?
Removing undesirable shoot before it grows
What is green harvesting?
Removing bunches to allow remaining bunches to ripen more fully and evenly
50 hours/ha
What is the effect of green harvesting too early (pre-veraison) and too late (post-veraison)?
Too early: vines will react by increasing rate of berry cell division and increase berry size
Too late: less effective as sugar already moved into berries
What is leaf stripping and when is it done?
removal of leaves around fruit zone to improve fruit quality and fruit health and spray penetration and to increase speed of manual harvesting; done by machine or hand
70 hours/ha
What is eutypa and how does it relate to pruning?
A parasitic fungi; may enter where vine has pruning cut over 30mm in diameter which deepen due to frost cracking; overwrinters on canes
What is no-till cultivation?
Chemical weed control
What are types of herbicides?
Pre-emergence herbicides
Contact herbicides
Systemic herbicides
What are pre-emergence herbicides?
Poorly-soluble compounds that becomes tripped in upper layers of soil; absorbed through roots and act by inhibiting photosynthesis in young seedlings
What are contact herbicides?
Wilters or knockdown
Absorbed through green organs and destroy those parts
Effect is only temporary in plants with well-established root systems
Broken down in soil quickly
What are systemic herbicides?
Absorbed by leaves and translocate in sap; destroy whole plant
Very slow acting
What is floral initiation and what does its success depend on?
Where embryonic flowers develop in the dormant buds the year before and their success depends on temperature and sunlight exposure
What type of nutrients is sandy soil in a high rainfall area likely deficient in?
Potassium, Calcium, Sulfur
What type of nutrients is frequently cultivated, shallow soil in a low rainfall area likely deficient in?
Nitrogen
What is the main factor that predetermines wine style and quality?
Grape genetic characteristics
What does climate influence in a grape?
Levels of sugar, acid, pigment, tannin and intensity of fruit flavours
What influences the amount of crop produced by a variety?
Capacity for floral initiation and fruit set
What are activities done in summer of year 1 in site preparation?
Remove existing vegetation (essential) Plat external windbreak Level ground Terrace Sub-soil Install drainage Soil disinfection
What are activities done in autumn of year 1 in site preparation?
Corrective fertilisation
Deep plouging
What are activities done in summer of year 2 in site preparation?
Deep cultivation
Tracing out plantation
Planting
How is soil structure improved in site preparation?
Common to raise organic matter level above 2% by adding farmyard manure
Increase humus content
How is pH increased in site preparation?
pH should be increased to above 6.5 Use calcite (calcium carbonate), magnesite (magnesium carbonate) or dolomite (mixture of both)
What is gypsum?
CaSO4
Improves soil structure; reduces dispersion of surface soil; minimizes swelling of sub-surface soil (improving aeration and permeability)
What are the main aims of canopy management?
Maximize effectiveness of light interception
Reduce canopy shading
Produce a uniform microclimate for fruit
Achieve an appropriate distribution of products of photosynthesis
Arrange location of individual organs
What is the result of unpruned vines? And what is an example of such grape given in the Study Guide?
Short shoots, large and irregular yields, low quality berries (may still be able to ripen in hot climates)
Thompson table grapes
What does the choice of single of double guyot pruning depend on?
Legislation and vine vigour
What are characteristics of unpruned vines?
Reduced shoot growth
Self-regulation
High yields (suited for warm climates)
Large amount of permanent wood
Te Kauwhatta two-tier
Elaborate form of spur-pruning along a cordon
Cordon de Royat
Most common cordon system
Single or double horizontal cordon with shoots vertically trained
What are the advantages of a cordon system?
Easy to prune–process can be mechanized
Retains large volume of permanent wood
What are disadvantages of cordon systems?
Large carbohydrate reserves = vines vigorous
Loss of growing points along cordon
Lengthening of growing points
What are summer training operations?
Trimming off shoot extremities
Shoot positioning (shoot removal, bud rubbing, tucking in)
Leaf stripping
Green harvest
Chlorosis is a deficiency in what nutrients?
Iron, sulphur, nitrogen, magnesium
When should soil analysis be done?
Before planting and every 2-3 years
What is leaf and petiole analysis useful for?
Confirming visual symptoms, comparing good vine areas with bad; assessing effectiveness of fertilizer applications or changes in practices
What is “hidden hunger”?
Magnesium or zinc deficiencies that affect vine performance without showing symptoms
When adding fertilizers, what balances are important to maintain?
Mg v K
N v K
Mn v Fe
When is nitrogen usually added?
Spring-time at flowering because that is when vine’s needs outstrip soil supply
Nitrogen is not added pre-planting because it mineralises organic matter and easily leaches
When are phosphorus and potassium added?
Autumn OR spring in light soils
What are main formats of organic fertiliser?
Farmyard manure, slurry or cereal straws, green manure (growing and ploughing green cover crops to increase organic matter content in soil), foliar fertilisers
What is a common cover crop?
White mustard–can product a crop ready for ploughing in 6-8 weeks
What are foliar fertilisers?
Liquid fertilisers that are applied directly to leaves
Useful for applying nutrients that may be immobilised in soil
(Phosphate is not easily taken up by leaves and may cause leaf-burn)
What are methods of controlling weeds?
Cultivation
Ground cover
Herbicides
Mulching
What are types of mulches?
Black polythene, straw, grass clippings, paper, tree bark, wood chips, marc, timber milling, sugar refining, household waste
How does mulch work?
By spreading on to soil surface, suppresses weeds and prevents light from reaching young weeds
What is strategic mulching?
Application of mulch with high carbon/nitrogen ratio (straw, paper, woodchip) on vigorous plants to reduce variability in establishment of young vines
How does regulated deficit irrigation work?
Uses water stress to control vegetative and reproductive growth by applying a water deficit variably between fruit set and a month or so after veraison (restricts vegetative growth and decreases competition)
What is RDI effect on Shiraz?
Reduces berry size
What is a draw back of RDI?
May result in lower yields
What is goal of partial rootzone drying?
Control vine vigour while maintaining quality and without significant crop reduction
How does row spacing affect vine density?
Wider the alleys > greater distance between plants > More vigour (more soil space available) > need more trellis space
