WSET Diploma D1 Canopy Management CH7

Question 1

What is Canopy Managements and the Key aims of Canopy Management

Answer 1

Canopy Management involves organization of shoots, leaves, and fruit of the vine in order to maximize grape yield and quality

Key Aims

• Maximize light effectiveness on vine canopy
• Reduce shade in canopy
• Ensure microclimate for the grapes is uniform to ripen evenly
• Promote Vine Balance - balance between vegetative and reproductive functions of vine
• arrange canopy to easy mechanisation and/or manual labor
• promote air circulation to reduce incedents of disease

Can have important implications of both production and ripening of grapes, including grape yield, health and ripening

Question 2

Difference of Shade and Light to canopy

What are effects of promoting sunlight exposure in the Canopy through Canopy management

Answer 2

Light increases bud fruitfulness, shade makes it grow vegatative (tendrils) rather than a focus on inflorescense

Effects

• Increased sugar levels in grapes, greater photosynthesis
• Increased tannin levels and greater polymerization of tannins, less bitterness
• Enhanced anthocyanin development in black grapes
• Decreased malic acid
• increase some flavorable aroma precursors and aroma compounds (ex. Terpenes in muscat)
• Decreased methoxypyrazines, herbaceous quality in cab sauv and sauv blanc
• Can provide shade in hot climates
• Can reduce fungal disease pressure

Question 3

Describe Canopy Management and Vine Balance

Answer 3

Page 76

Vegatative Growth vs Vine Balance

Question 4

The Range of Canopy Management Techniques

Answer 4

• Vine Training
• Winter Pruning
• Vine Trellising
• Overall plant vigour management (nitrogen fertilisation, irrigation, cover cropping ect)
• Summer pruning (Weather any one year may have negative effects on flowering and fruit set)
  a) Disbudding
  b) Shoot Removal
  c) Shoot postitioning
  d) Pinching
  e) Shoot Trimming
  f) leaf removal
  g) crop thinning/green harvesting

Question 5

When it comes to establishing a vineyard, what key facors should be of consideration for canopy Management

Answer 5

• Grape Variety
• Rootstock Vigour
• Planting Vine Density (Vine training and trellising)
• Row Orientation
• VIne Training, Pruning, Trellising

Question 6

What is Vine Density and How is it used for Canopy Management

Answer 6

Vine Density is the number of vines planted per hectare of vineyard, range from a few hundred to 10,000 per acre
Influence spacing between rows and vines

Determined by Vigour, help select trellising

Low Vigour vines can be planted closer together, less resources
High vigour further apart, avoid overlapping canopies, increased shading, reduced ripeness

Row Spacing

• High trellised further apart so rows dont shade eachother
• Makes sure rows are approriate lengths apart for machinery that will be used

Question 7

What are the differences of a Vegetative vs Balanced Cycle in terms of

SHADE

FRUIT WEIGHT

SHOOT GROWTH

BALANCE

CANOPY DENSITY

Answer 7

Vegitative Balanced Cycle

SHADE - Depresses Budbreak Stimutates Budbreak
bunch initiation bunch initiation
fruit set, berry growth fruit set, berry growth

FRUIT Per shoot reduced Per shoot increase
WEIGHT

SHOOT Stimulated due to Depressed due to
GROWTH less fruit growth more fruit growth

BALANCE imbalanced b/w Balanced b/w shoot
shoot & fruit growth and fruit growth

CANOPY increased due to decreases due to
DENSITY more leaf area more leaf area

Question 8

What is Undercropping vs Over Cropping

Answer 8

Refers in terms of yield and vine vigor

Undercropping -Too low yield, high vine vigour - Vegitative Cycle

Overcropping - To high yield, not enough vine vigour, takes carbs from trunks, cordons needed for next growing cycle

Question 9

What are some factors taken into account for a balanced vine cycle

When are key decisions made

Answer 9

• Balance of vigour, fruit ripening
• Growing Enviornment (Ex. Warmer temps, more photosynthesis higher vigour, easier ripening, higher yields)
• The Vine itself - some varieties are naturally more vigourous (ex:Cab Sauv grow larger, larger yields as opposed to Merlot, low vigour in same enviornmental condidtions), choice of rootstock can come into play
• Presence of Disease - can effect vine vigour
• Age of vines - orlder tend to have lower yields
• WInter Pruning key time when decions are made in influence number of shoots and potential yields, summer pruning to make corrections to amend balance and enhance ripening

Question 10

What is Row Orientation, When is it seleceted, What are factors that come into play when selecting row orientation

Answer 10

Row Orentation is direction of rows
It is selected before the vineyard is planted (Mondavi having to replant beckstoffer is very costly right now)

• North - South Orientation tends to provide most sun exposure
• West facing needs protection from sundburn, more shading (warmer in afternoon)
• Prevailing winds will be factor in orientation, 90 degree angle to wind provides most protection
• Orienting rows parallel to longest side of vineyard, often most effiecient
• Vineyards at more than 10 degree angles need to be planted up and down or machinery may slip (unless terraced)

Question 11

What Factors are Training and Trellising Selected on

Answer 11

• Vigour of Vine
  a) Natural resources available (temp, water, nutrients) *Humans can have influence on natural resources available ex. irrigation
  b) Planting Material (grape variety, clone, rootstock)
  c) Presence of disease
• Topography of Site - steep slopes or windy sites may not be able to use trellising Ex. Northern Rhone, Mosel, vines on individual stakes
• The need for Mechanization - Certain Trellising better for Machines, ex. VSP easier, but individual stakes or bush vines difficult

Question 12

What does vine training refer to

What are the two categories of vine training, how can they be pruned

Why would a system be low or high trained

Why is vine training important

Answer 12

VIne training refers to the shape of permenant wood

Two Categories

• Head Trained - Relatively little permenant wood, usually trunk, maybe a few short stubs growing from top. Spur Pruned or Replacement Cane Pruned
• Cordon Training - Typically have a trunk, one or more permenant horizontal arms of permenant wood, “Cordons”. Usually spur pruned. Take more time than head trained because of permentant wood

Low trained benefit from heat retained soil, provide greater protection from wind

High Trained to avoid frost, make manual interventions like harvesting easier

Question 13

What is pruning

When can you prune, when is the most important time of Pruning

What are two types of pruning during the most important time of year, explain them

Answer 13

Pruning is the removal of unwanted parts of the vine

Can prune in summer and winter, Winter being the most important, determining how many buds for the next growing season impacting yields

Two types of Winter Pruning
Spur Pruning- Spurs are short sections of 1 year old wood, shoots from last year have lignified, that have been cut back to 2 or 3 buds. Can either be distributed alon cordon (cordon trained) or around the top of the trunk, (head trained)

Replacement Cane Prining- Canes are longer sections of 1 year old wood, 8-20 buds(depends on vine vigour), Laid down horizontal and tied to trellis for support. More complicated than Spur Pruning. 1 can horizontal, spur left to still grow next years cane

Question 14

What is Trellising

What are advantages and disadvantage to Trellising a Vineyard and Untrellised Vineyards

Answer 14

Trellising is permanent structurs of posts and wines to help support and position vines shoots, tendrils curl around to keep in position, it helps give control to spread out shoots for maximum light and air flow.
Dis. Expensive to establish and need maintanence

Untellised Vineyards, usually head trained and spur pruned, Bush Vines. It is inexpensive and simple. Droops for shade in hot sunny climates to avoid sun burn.
Dis. Only best for dry conditions, wet conditions promote disease, not good for mechanization

Question 15

What are the Types of Trellising

Answer 15

VSP (Verticle Shoot Positioning) - Most common, pest for low or moderate vigour vines. Shoots trained vertically onto trellis forming single narrow canopy. Can be both Cordon Trained - Spur Pruned, or Head Trained - Replacement Can Pruned. When replacement caned - Guyot for one cane double guyot for 2 canes.
Too dense of canopy if High Vigour Vines, too much shade

Complex Training Systems for vines with high vigour and yields of fruit - split canopy to reduce shade, maximise light interception, dificulty to manage and mechanise
- Geneva Double Curtain - think high H (from sky view point) and drob down

• Lyre - Think low H (from above) and postitioned to grow up
• Scott Henry or Smart Dyson- On top of eachother Top grows up, bottom gros down

Question 16

What is and the goal of Summer Pruning

Answer 16

Summer pruning, some carried out in spring, is using a variety of techniques to keep canopy of vine maintained

• Enhancing Grape Ripening
• Reduce chance of fungal disease
• Make vineyard easier to manage

Except for Pruning and Budding can all be muchanised

Question 17

List the Summer Pruning Techniques and what the purpose it
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Answer 17

• Disbudding, removal of buds for vine balance, in winter will leave more incase of damage. Also remove poor positioned buds, or non bearing fruit buds
• Shoot Removal, remove shoots poorly positioned for maintenance of well organized open canopy
• Shoot Positioning, Shoots tucked into trellis to better organize canopy and facilitate mechanization
• Pinching, removes shoot tips at flowering to improve fruit set
• Shoot Trimming, cut shoots to limit growth, reduce canopy thickness, enhance ripeness, reduce competition for carbs. Also lowers disease pressure, better air cirulation and improved spray penetration
• Leaf Removal, reduces shade, enhance ripening, lower disease pressure, better spray penetration. Warm and hot climates, too much sun leads to sunburnt fruit
• Crop Thinning or Green Harvesting - Removal of bunches of grapes to increase ripeness. Uneven ripening or least ripe bunches removed.