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TheHomeVineyardArtNathan,Enologist/Viticulturist

UCMasterGardener2011

TheHomeVineyard

I.BRIEFHISTORYOFGRAPEGROWINGEarlygrapecultureGrapegrowinginCaliforniaEffectsof18th Amendment(Prohibition!)PostProhibition

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II.HOMEVINEYARDCULTURAL PRACTICESA.Site selectionB.Plantselection – Rootstock andcultivars for homevineyardC.Plantingandearly care duringFirst LeafD.Second Leaf careE. Thirdleaf and beyondF. PruningprinciplesG. IrrigationH. PestControlI. Diseases

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BriefHistory….• Family“Vitaceae”;Genus“Vitis”;• Mostly species“vinifera”.V. labrusca iseasternNAspecies;V. rotundafolia isfound in southernstates.Frenchhybrids – inter-speciescrosses.

• Seedsinrefusepilesofpiledwellers.• Biblicalmentions• CulturebeganinAsiaMinor• PhoeniciansmovedgrapesintoEurope• California– Missiongrape• Southern California• NorthernCalifornia

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• Siteselection:• Soil types– canbevariedbetweensandyandclay– slightlyacid• pH5.5to6.5• Grapesdo reasonablywell inpoor, shallow soils• Vinespacing– depends onsoil typesandvigorofvinesbeingplanted.

• Selectingplants• Rootstocks–maynotneed if soil freeofphyloxera andnematodes.• Cultivars– dependentonclimate forproper ripening.

• Table Grapes• Wine Grapes• RaisinGrapes

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SauvignonBlancNorthbank Vineyard,Marlborough,NZ

TheHomeVineyard

PinotGrigio(Gris)Northbank Vineyard,Marlborough,NZ

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• Plantingand care during FirstLeaf• Planting –

Soil shouldbe well drained and weed freeAdd“French Drain” if necessary toprovide drainage.

Eliminate rodentpests (squirrels, gophers, moles) if possiblePlant rootedvines foreasier vine establishment

Trim vine priortoplanting.Can putcuttingsin the ground– will rootinground.

*Nursery Rowsformultiple vine planting*Stake vines before orafter planting if notgrowing atfencing.

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• PlantingandcareduringFirstLeaf(continued)Weedcontrol– mechanicalvs. chemical

NOCHEMICALweeding the firstyear!Keepsoil clean,usingcarenottodamageyounggrapevine

Cluster thin– eliminate anypotential fruit the first twoyears.Pruneafterall leavesdrop in fall

Prune tosingle spuroftwobuds.Maintainvigilanceagainstgroundpests likeslugs, snails &rodents.

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TheHomeVineyard• CareDuringSecondLeaf:• Mostcareis in training thevineupthestake

• Picka single shoot• Leave spur– justincase

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• Dormantpruningafterendof2nd Leaf

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TrellisingandTraining• Multitudeoftrellistypesandmethodsfortraininggrapes.• Easiestandoldestmethodis asinglegrapestake,withnowires.• Winegrapesusuallygrownonwire from40to42 inchesaboveground.

• Tablegrapesgenerallygrownhigher, with5feetbetweenvineandground.

• Arbors andotherpatiostructuresarequitesuitable for trainingandgrowing tablegrapes.• Allow 50-100Squarefeet per grapevine

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Training Systems: 2 Basic Systems

• Cordon Trained

• Head Trained• Spur pruned• Cane pruned

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• Cordon Trained

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• Head trained, spur pruned

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• Head trained, cane pruned

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PrinciplesofPruning1.Pruninghasadepressingorstuntingeffectonthevine;the

removaloflivingvegetativepartsatanytimedecreasesthecapacityortotalproductiveabilityofthevine.

-Leafarea,numberandsizedeterminescapacity.

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PrinciplesofPruning2.Theproductionofcropdepressesthecapacityofthevinefor

thefollowingyearoryears.

- Overcroppingwhenveryyoungcandepressvinegrowth&productionformanyyears,especiallylargeclustervarieties.

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PrinciplesofPruning3.Thecapacityofthevinevariesdirectlywiththenumberof

shootsthatdevelop.

- Capacityofvinedeterminedbyleafarea,NOThowfasttheshootsgrow.

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PrinciplesofPruning4.Thevigoroftheshootsofavinevariesinverselywiththe

numberofshootsandwiththeamountofcrop.

- Fewshootswithreducedcropwillhavegreatergrowththanmanyshootswithcrop.

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PrinciplesofPruning5.Thefruitfulnessofavine,withinlimits,variesinverselywith

thevigoroftheshoots.

- VINE BALANCE ISTHE KEY.

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PrinciplesofPruning6.Alargecane,arm,orvinecanproducemorethanasmallone

andtherefore shouldcarrymorefruitbuds.

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7.Agivenvineinagivenseasoncan properlynourishandripen onlyacertainquantityof fruit;itscapacityislimitedbyitsprevious historyanditsenvironment.

- Bearing capacitywithoutdelayingripening isIDEAL.

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• Inconspicuousflowers• Don’tconfusewithdeveloping berries

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• BloomEvolvesquiterapidlyinwarm,sunnyweather

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• Flowerreaches “fullbloom”whencalyptrafallsoff

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• Stamenfalloffandberrybeginstodevelop

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• Grapeflowersbeforebloom

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• Grapeflowersmid-bloom

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• Grape flowersfullbloom(85%)

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• Grapefruitsetaftershatter

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• Producingqualitywinegrapes:• Getlightonthefruit

-Crop thinning-Leaf thinning

-Improvesfruitcolor-Pestreduction-Reduced diseasepressure

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Producingqualitytablegrapes:• Thin,thin,thin• Flowerclusterthin– toomanyblooms• Clusterthin– vinesettoomanyclusters• Berry thin– improvesberrysize.

• Girdling&growthregulators• Notcommoninhomevineyards

GirdlingProcedure

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IrrigationforGrapevines• Grapesneedmoderate irrigation– canrequireupto10gallons/day/vineinverywarmclimateslikeMontereysouthcounty(SoledadtoBradley.)• Floodaroundoneortwovinesworks.Dependingonsoil,every2-3weeksissufficient.• Dripirrigationworksgreatbutmustbedonemorefrequently.• Avoidstressbetweenbloomandveraison.

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GrapeNutrition• Grapeshaveprettylownutritionalneedscomparedtomostcrops• Nitrogen– don’toverfertilize…willleadtoextremevigor,reducingfruitfulness.• Zinc– canbedabbedon pruningwoundsinwinterorfoliarspray1-2weekspriortobloom• Potassium– applytosoil6”deepand18”fromtrunkofvine.

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PestManagement• Invertebrates

- Leafhoppers,thrips,westerngrapeleaf skeletonizer,leaffolders,leafrollers,blue-green&glassywingedsharpshooter(GWSS),lightbrownapplemoth(LBAM),cutworms- SeeUCIPMGuidelinesfortreatments

• DiseasesPowderymildew,Botrytiscinerea,Eutypa sp.

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PestManagement• Diseases

Powderymildew,easilyControlledwithdustingsulfurat6”,thenevery6”untilveraison

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PestManagement• Diseases

Botrytiscinerea (graymold) AKA“NobleRot”

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PestManagement• Diseases

Eutypa dieback

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Birdscanbedevastatingtoripening grapes- Applynettingafterveraison.

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References:- CaliforniaMasterGardenerHandbook2nd edition,UCPress- GeneralViticulture2nd edition,Winkleret.al.,UCPress,1974- http://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/Growing_Grapes_in_the_California_Garden/

- WinemakinginCalifornia,RuthTeiser &CatherineHarroun,McGraw-HillBookCompany,1983