gouveia vineyard wallingford, ct · hru. sd/sh. vsp. yield/meter (kg/m) cane 1.83 m. 2015. spur...

The Effect of Vine Architecture in New England Vineyards

Gouveia VineyardWallingford, CT

Francis J. FerrandinoDepartment of Plant Pathology and Ecology

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Background and Rationale:

Most inland New England growers continue to depend on French-American hybrids or other

cold-hardy cultivars for the bulk of their production.

These hybrids are much more vigorous than the old-world vinifera

Saint Croix

Can different canopy structure increase productivity?

… without affecting fruit quality?

To answer these questions we established a 0.5 A plot at

Gouveia Vineyard in Wallingford CT

Treatments Four training systems were followed:

• Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)– Mid-wire trained– Catch wires above– Hedged

• Hudson River Umbrella (HRU)– Top-wire trained– Combed

• Smart-Dyson (SD)– Vertically divided canopy, mid-wire trained.– Catch wires above and below

• Geneva Double Curtain (GDC)– Horizontally divided canopy, top-wire trained.– Combed

VSPVertical Shoot Positioning

HRUHudson River Umbrella

Pruning Method

• Fruit is borne on canes from last years buds.• A single cane from last year can supply many

buds.• Cane pruning uses last year’s canes to become

a cordon.• Spur pruning cuts back the cordon to last

years wood.

Cane Pruning

Spur Pruning

Split Canopies

The more cordon length … more potential yield

• Vertical splitting … Smart Dyson• Horizontal splitting … Geneva Double Curtain

VSPVertical Shoot Positioning

SD/SHSmart Dyson- Scott Henry

HRUHudson River Umbrella

GDCGeneva Double Curtain

Treatments Four training systems were followed:

• Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)– Mid-wire trained– Catch wires above– Hedged

• Hudson River Umbrella (HRU)– Top-wire trained– Combed

• Smart-Dyson (SD)– Vertically divided canopy, mid-wire trained.– Catch wires above and below

• Geneva Double Curtain (GDC)– Horizontally divided canopy, top-wire trained.– Combed

2015 was a DRY year!

• There were no major disease problems• Yield depended on cordon length• Cane-pruned vines suffered winter damage!

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Yiel

d (k

g)2015

Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

0

1

2

3

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Yiel

d/m

eter

(kg

/m)

2015Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

2014 was a wet year!

• Downy Mildew was a major problem• Grape leaves close to the ground stay wet

longer• This resulted in yield loss for VSP and SD/SH

treatments.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Yiel

d (k

g)

2014Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Yiel

d (k

g/m

eter

)Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

2014

What about Quality?

• Fruit analysis was relatively constant for all treatments

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Brix

2015Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

Brix

2014Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

3.00

3.20

3.40

3.60

3.80

4.00

4.20

4.40

4.60

4.80

5.00

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

pH2015Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

3.00

3.20

3.40

3.60

3.80

4.00

4.20

4.40

4.60

4.80

5.00

GDC HRU SD/SH VSP

pH2014Cane 1.83 m

Spur 1.83 m

Spur 2.44 m

Results

• Doubling cordon length doubles yield• This requires twice the pruning and training• However, more inter-row spacing may reduce

efficiency.• Low canopies are more prone to disease • Denser canopies promote fruit rots

The Effect of Vine Architecture in New England Vineyards

Gouveia VineyardWallingford, CT

Francis J. FerrandinoDepartment of Plant Pathology and Ecology

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Stationfrancis.ferrandino@ct.gov