Hid-In-Pines Vineyard
FNE10-691
Better
Wine Grape Quality using Combined Vine Training and Canopy
Management – Phase Two
Hid-In-Pines Farm and Vineyard
Phone – 518-643-0006
e-mail –
richL@charter.net
www.hipvineyard.com
The farm name is Hid-In-Pines Farm and Vineyard
located at 456 Soper Street in Morrisonville, NY. In the past it
operated as a fresh vegetable and fruit farm as well as a small
dairy. The farm is currently operating as a vineyard and has
recently opened a winery. The farm is an offshoot of Lamoy’s Produce
and they are both part of the same physical farm of approximately 90
acres. The vineyard currently consists of three acres of cold hardy
wine grapes. The existing outbuildings have been turned into the new
farm winery and the wine from the grape crop will soon be marketed
in the new tasting room. The buildings are finished with a rustic
barn board siding to maintain the authentic look and character of an
old farm.
This year Lake Champlain Wines – the local grape growers association – attended the outreach meetings where we combined this research project with some hands on demonstrations of trellising and training methods.
The project began by examining the vines in the
early spring for winter bud damage. The temperatures during the
winter of 2009-2010 were fairly typical of a normal winter. Normal
lows have been in the -10 to -12F range and this year we reached
-11F during the coldest event. All
the varieties, Frontenac, Leon Millot and LaCrosse had very good bud
survival with only limited minor bud damage. Work began in the
vineyard doing preliminary dormant season vine pruning keeping in
mind the training systems. The number of retained nodes (buds) was
based on making bud cuts to determine bud mortality rates. The
desired retained nodes were set at a base of 5 nodes per foot of
canopy for Frontenac, 6 nodes per foot for Leon Millot and 6 nodes
per foot for LaCrosse.
The retained nodes were counted and recorded after pruning. Keep in
mind that the foot of canopy includes two levels with the 4 arm
Kniffen and the number of nodes was divided between these two
levels. The Frontenac used 3 nodes per foot on the top wire and two
nodes per foot on the bottom fruiting wire. The Leon Millot and
LaCrosse were adjusted to 4 buds per foot upper and 2 buds per foot
on the lower on the 4 Arm Kniffen system.
Shortly after spring pruning, the training systems were established. One row of Frontenac and the Leon Millot had been previously trained to the proper systems. The second and third rows of Frontenac had been Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) prior to this year. At pruning, two long canes near the trunk at the fruiting wire were retained. These were trained up to the top wire and tied down to it and thus the four arms were established. Some canes were a bit short to allow for a fully spread canopy on the top wire, so extra nodes were retained on the lower wire in those cases. The LaCrosse had been previously trained to Top Wire Cordon (TWC) on half the vines. The other half was retained as 4 Arm Kniffen in all varieties.
To better
understand the types of training systems used see Diagram 1
on the next pages.
Diagram 1
Vertical Shoot Positioning
Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP)
Top Wire Cordon (TWC)
Early season LaCrosse Vine on
Top Wire Cordon
In
Season Pruning and Training
As the growing season progressed the vines were
trained and maintained to the appropriate systems. Times needed for
these operations were recorded and later tabulated for each
treatment panel. These were listed as Pass One, Pass Two, etc.
The VSP shoots were trained between the catch
wires. As the shoots grew over the top wire by a few feet, they were
hedged off to just above the top wire.
The vines trained to the 4 Arm Kniffen were
allowed to grow the shoots as long as they got. They were trained to
droop down while straightening them out (combed).
Any shoots that interfered with the tires of the tractor
running over them for normal vineyard operations were cut off at the
ground (skirted) to prevent the shoots from being broken off. Rows
two and three of the Frontenac 4 Arm Kniffen did not fill well this
year on the upper shoots. As a result, lower than would be expected
number of shoots and clusters formed. The vines are well formed now,
but yields were affected for 2010 and this study.
The Top Wire Cordon (TWC) vines were kept tied
to the top wire and the new shoots were trained downward and combed
to open the canopy up. If the vines touched the ground as above,
they were skirted back.
At the appropriate time shoot thinning and
cluster thinning were implemented aiming for the desired number of
shoots and clusters per foot and recorded. Shoot thinning was aimed
at a final shoot count of 5 shoots per row foot (combined wires) for
all treatments. All treatments, including the Check were
appropriately hedged or skirted and leaf pulling took place to
expose the fruit.
Pictures were taken as the year progressed to help document the results of these operations.
Sampling and Testing
The sample berries were crushed and the juice
extracted for testing. The brix was measured using a handheld
refractometer. The pH was measured using a portable electronic pH
meter after calibrating. The TA was measured using a Hanna
Instruments 84102 Mini Titrator with digital readout after proper
calibration.
Harvest
Each variety of grapes was all harvested the
same day when possible so the results would be consistent.
The Leon Millot was harvested on September 21, 2010, a full
month sooner than in 2009. The LaCrosse was harvested September 26,
2010. The Frontenac needed to be harvested on two days as a result
of additional rows. Row One of Frontenac was harvested first on
October 4, 2010. Rows Two and Three were harvested on October 5,
2010. Some of the grapes were past their prime. Those were the most
open vines, notably the shoot thinned ones. In
future studies and in real life, they would be harvested at
their prime condition. This year they were harvested on the same
days to try to compare numbers, but in effect less accurate because
of it. Most affected was yield of the shoot thinned panels(much less
than anticipated during growth).
Every vine of every treatment was picked into its own grape lug. They were individually weighed in pounds to the tenth pound and recorded. As the vines were picked, the harvested clusters were counted and recorded. These two measurements allowed for average vine and cluster weights for each treatment. It also makes it possible to give acre equivalent yields based on vine and row spacing.
There continued to be a lot of information
gathered from the trial project this year as there was in the
previous. Again it is
obvious that it is possible to influence and increase the quality of
wine grapes through training systems and canopy management.
I will list the information here in a condensed format for
the results of the trial. After that I will try to interpret some of
these results and what it can mean. Like any other study, the
validity of the data would be enhanced with further testing in
future years. Again I believe there are a lot of possibilities and
look forward to continuing this research work with the demonstration
planting I initiated in 2009 to further the knowledge base of
information.
Frontenac
The VSP requires more time for training and
summer pruning than the 4 Arm Kniffen. In general it takestwo or
three large hedgings to get the VSP down to a manageable size to not
shade the fruit. The 4 Arm Kniffen stays visibly more open
especially the shoot thinned panel with the fruit more exposed for
ripening, reducing the need for pruning and leaf pulling.For
comparison I assign a value of $1000 per ton for grapes of minimum
brix level of 21, $900 for brix between 19.5 and 21, $800 over 18
but under 19.5 and $500 for a brix of under 18. Actual price
differences will vary from area to area and variety to variety, but
this shows how price drops for lower sugar and higher acids.
Following
is a summary of comparative treatments:
Frontenac Row One
AvgYield lbs Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP Shoot Thinned
15.7
5.42
23.0
3.35
12.8
$1000
$5420
4 AK
Shoot Thinned 28.3
9.78
22.8
3.21
13.7
$1000
$9780
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
29.1
10.05
21.6
3.15
14.0
$1000 $10050
VSP Check
22.5
7.77
20.6
3.38
16.0
$800
$6160
4 AK
Check
29.2
10.07
21.4
3.18
14.5
$1000 $10070
Frontenac
Row
Two
AvgYield lbs
Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP
Shoot Thinned
16.1
5.56
21.0
3.17
14.6
$1000
$5560
4 AK Shoot Thinned*
15.3
5.29
23.4
3.25
13.5
$1000
$5290
VSP Cluster Thinned
12.5
4.30
23.0
3.18
15.1
$1000
$4300
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
* 19.4
6.69
23.4
3.31
13.3
$1000 $6690
VSP Check
13.3
4.60
23.0
3.20
14.4
$1000
$4600
4 AK
Check
24.4
8.43
23.0
3.35
14.7
$1000
$8430
*Past
prime and many grapes had dropped.
Frontenac Row Three
AvgYield lbs
Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP
Shoot Thinned
15.6
5.38
24.0
3.30
13.9
$1000
$5380
4 AK Shoot Thinned*
11.1
3.82
24.4
3.37
13.2
$1000
$3820
VSP
Cluster Thinned 17.3
5.96
23.2
3.31
14.9
$1000
$5960
4 AK Cluster Thinned* 16.3
5.63
24.0
3.34
12.4
$1000
$5630
VSP
Check
18.3
6.32
23.0
3.46
14.2
$1000
$6320
4 AK Check
*
14.5
5.01
24.0
3.44
13.2
$1000
$5010
*Past
prime and many grapes had dropped.
Frontenac AVERAGE
AvgYield lbs
Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP Shoot Thinned
15.8
5.44
22.7
3.27
13.8
$1000
$5440
4 AK
Shoot Thinned 18.2
6.26
23.5
3.28
13.5
$1000
$6260
VSP Cluster Thinned
17.0
5.85
22.4
3.29
15.3
$1000
$5850
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
21.6
7.43
23.0
3.27
13.2
$1000
$7430
VSP Check
18.0
6.19
22.2
3.35
14.9
$1000
$6190
4 AK
Check
22.7
7.81
22.8
3.32
14.1
$1000
$7810
Frontenac Row One #####
AvgYield lbs
Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP Shoot Thinned
15.7
5.42
23.0
3.35
12.8
$1000
$5420
4 AK
Shoot Thinned 28.3
9.78
22.8
3.21
13.7
$1000
$9780
VSP Cluster Thinned
21.3
7.34
21.0
3.37
16.0
$1000
$7340
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
29.1
10.05
21.6
3.15
14.0
$1000 $10050
VSP Check
22.5
7.77
20.6
3.38
16.0
$800
$6160
4 AK
Check
29.2
10.07
21.4
3.18
14.5
$1000 $10070
######
This row was more mature and probably represents a more true
representation of the variety than even the average shown above.
Leon Millot
The Leon Millot grapes are in two adjacent
rows, with one having VSP training and the other the 4 Arm Kniffen.
The training was implemented the same as the Frontenac, training the
extra two arms from long center canes retained at dormant pruning in
2009. This year the upper cordons were well developed and they were
winter pruned to approximately 6 buds per foot of row space – four
upper and two lower. The shoot thinned treatment ended with as close
to 5 shoots per foot as I could get on both VSP and 4 AK. The
cluster thinned treatment relied on removing clusters to get as
close to the target number as possible.
Overall the 4 Arm Kniffen
required less summer pruning and training time than did the VSP. The
canopy was also somewhat less dense than the VSP area.
For comparison I assign a value of $1000 per
ton for grapes of minimum brix level of 20, $800 over 18 but under
20 and $500 for a brix of under 18. Actual price differences will
vary from area to area and variety to variety, but this shows how
price drops for lower sugar and higher acids.
Following
is a summary of comparative treatments:
Yield lbs Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
VSP Shoot Thinned
18.5
6.39
20.6
3.47
5.2
$1000
$5200
4 AK
Shoot Thinned 28.6
9.86
21.2
3.57
5.4
$1000
$9860
VSP Cluster Thinned
14.8
5.10
20.8
3.50
5.9
$1000
$5100
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
29.6
10.23
19.4
3.55
6.6
$800
$8184
VSP Control
15.0
5.17
20.6
3.50
6.4
$1000
$5170
4 AK
Control
30.7
10.59
21.0
3.51
6.1
$1000 $10590
The yield differences with Leon Millot is
significant resulting in about double the yield in all treatments.
The quality in general was very close through all treatments and
training systems. Overall this year the 4 Arm Kniffen resulted in a
much greater yield and resulting value to the crop than the VSP
training systems with little difference between thinning and not
thinning, either shoot or cluster thinning.
Leon Millot Grapes Before
Picking- VSP Shoot Thinned
LaCrosse
The LaCrosse vines were trained to Top Wire
Cordon (TWC) and 4 Arm Kniffen. The TWC vines this year were well
formed. Both training systems performed well and the fruit was of
good quality. Neither system required a great deal of labor to keep
trained and under control.
For LaCrosse- a white grape -I assign a value
of $1000 per ton for grapes of minimum brix level of 18, $800 over
15 but under 18 and $500 for a brix of under 15
. Actual price differences will vary from area to area and
variety to variety, but this shows how price drops for lower sugar
and higher acids.
Following
is a summary of comparative treatments:
Yield lbs Tons/Acre
brix
pH
TA
Price
Value/Acre
TWC
Shoot Thinned
25.9
8.93
19.2
3.50
6.9
$1000
$8930
4 AK Shoot Thinned
25.1
8.65
18.6
3.59
8.6
$1000
$8650
TWC Cluster Thinned
21.7
7.50
18.0
3.35
7.6
$1000
$7500
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
24.2
8.34
18.0
3.61
8.2
$1000
$8340
TWC Control
21.4
7.39
18.0
3.45
7.2
$1000
$7390
4 AK
Control
32.3
11.16
18.6
3.61
8.2
$1000
$11160
LaCrosse grapes on Top Wire Cordon
The following table summarizes the time
involved in the labor of training and tying the vines of each
treatment during the growing season. It logs the actual times needed
for each treatment. By gathering this information it takes any extra
labor needed for any treatment into consideration.
|
|
Labor |
2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Time |
Labor Date |
|
|
|
|
Hours: Minutes |
|
Variety |
Training |
Canopy |
Panel |
|
|
|
System |
Management |
Number |
|
Row One |
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
1:23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
1:35 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Control |
Three |
1:38 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
0:19 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
0:23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Control |
Three |
0:21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
VSP |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
1:46 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
VSP |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
1:55 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
VSP |
Control |
Three |
1:52 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
4 AK *** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
0:31 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
4 AK *** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
0:37 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leon Millot |
4 AK *** |
Control |
Three |
0:35 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
TWC * |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
0:29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
TWC * |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
0:24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
TWC * |
Control |
Three |
0:25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
4 AK *** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
1:02 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
4 AK *** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
1:04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LaCrosse |
4 AK *** |
Control |
Three |
1:10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Labor |
2010 |
|
Total Time |
Labor Date |
|
|
|
|
Hours: Minutes |
|
Variety |
Training |
Canopy |
Panel |
|
|
|
System |
Management |
Number |
|
Row Two |
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
1:21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
1:30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP ** |
Control |
Three |
1:26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
0:18 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
0:20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Control |
Three |
0:16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
RowThree |
Frontenac |
VSP |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
1:34 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
1:33 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
VSP |
Control |
Three |
1:34 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Shoot Thinned |
One |
0:21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Cluster Thinned |
Two |
0:20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frontenac |
4 AK *** |
Control |
Three |
0:23 |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
The winter conditions previous to this project
were fairly typical of a normal winter at the farm location. A low
of -11F was experienced for the winter. The normal low is about
-12F for the farm.
The summer began a bit warmer than normal and
much above the previous year. This year the farm logged 2500 growing
degree days, normal is 2400 and last year was only 2200.
Summer highs were well above last year and somewhat above
normal. As fall approached, the weather cooled and allowed aromatic
esters to form very well.
Fairly typical rainfall occurred throughout the
growing season with a few heavy rainfalls in July and August which
dictated an extra spraying for disease over what might have been
needed.
In general it is certainly possible to increase
the value of the wine grapes both through increased yields and
improved quality. Furthermore net farm income could be increased by
getting higher returns for the crop along with diminished labor
requirement. Some of the treatments required substantially less
labor input during the growing season as well as harvest labor. In
this study, the harvest time was not tracked per vine. Possibly that
should be included in a future study.
Leon Millot
Labor
Net
Tons/Acre
Price/T
Value/A Hours/$10x172*
VSP Shoot Thinned
6.39
$1000
$5200
1.77
$3044
$2156
4 AK
Shoot Thinned
9.86
$1000
$9860
0.52
$894
$8966
VSP Cluster Thinned
5.10
$1000
$5100
1.92
$3302
$1798
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
10.23
$800
$8184 0.62
$1066
$7078
VSP Control
5.17
$1000
$5170
1.87
$3216
$1954
4 AK
Control
10.59
$1000 $10590
0.58
$998
$9592
*Spacing provides approximately 688 vines /
Acre divided by 4 = 172
For the
Leon Millot this year, the 4 Arm Kniffen holds a great advantage
over VSP. Quality was slightly better on the 4AK, but the real
advantage was greatly increased yields over all canopy management
techniques. There was also much less labor required on a per acre
basis.
LaCrosse
Labor
Net
Tons/Acre
Price/T
Value/A Hours/$10x172*
TWC
Shoot Thinned
8.93
$1000
$8930
0.48
$826
$8104
4 AK Shoot Thinned
8.65
$1000
$8650
1.13
$1944
$6686
TWC Cluster Thinned
7.50
$1000
$7500
0.40
$4198
$4198
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
8.34
$1000
$8340
1.03
$1772
$6568
TWC Control
7.39
$1000
$7390
0.42
$722
$6668
4 AK
Control
11.16
$1000 $11600
1.17
$2012
$9988
*Spacing provides approximately 688 vines /
Acre divided by 4 = 172
LaCrosse this year required less labor using
the Top Wire Cordon system. Quality was similar for all treatments.
This year the treatment with the greatest yield also gave the
greatest return. There
is no clear winner with LaCrosse this year.
Frontenac AVERAGE
Labor
Net
Tons/Acre
Price/T
Value/A Hours/$10x172*
VSP Shoot Thinned
5.44
$1000
$5440
1.43
$2460
$2980
4 AK
Shoot Thinned 6.26
$1000
$6260
0.32
$550
$5710
VSP Cluster Thinned
5.85
$1000
$5850
1.55
$2666
$3184
4 AK
Cluster Thinned
7.43
$1000
$7430
0.35
$602
$6828
VSP Check
6.19
$1000
$6190
1.55
$2666
$3524
4 AK
Check
7.81
$1000
$7810
0.33
$568
$7242
*Spacing provides approximately 688 vines /
Acre divided by 4 = 172
The Frontenac portion of the trial is made up
of first and second year converted 4 Arm Kniffen from VSP vines. The
second year vines were more developed and yielded higher with the 4
Arm Kniffen than did the first year vines. This definitely lowered
the difference between the two training systems, but even the
averages yielded twice as much net income comparing 4 Arm Kniffen to
the Vertical Shoot Positioned portion.
This trial project shows that there is great
potential to maximize yield, increase quality and net farm profit.
Further testing should be done to validate these findings. More
years of data and expanded replications would be of value. I see
this project as validating the concept and the additional testing
would give reliability to the findings. In the future it would
probably be worth expanding the number of training systems, and
varieties this work was done with. It may be possible to reliably
predict the best combination of variety, training system and
possibly canopy management type. Armed with that information, it
would increase the net farm income and sustainability of adopting
farmers.
At this point, I would continue to advise
caution in adoption of
the results of this project. It certainly would value anyone
considering adopting this to give it a try on their individual farm,
possibly in a side by side comparison. The results may vary from
farm to farm based on soil types, climate and inputs. After further
testing on my vineyard, I will probably adopt these concepts to
maximize farm income.
10. Outreach
I see the outreach part of this project as a
continuing process and hope to continue the dissemination of the
results for the next year or more. This current year the outreach
consisted of several methods of dissemination.
Onsite
Field Meetings.
A tour
and field meeting was held at the vineyard on July 17 and was well
attended by a number of local vineyard owners and other grape
enthusiasts from NY, Vermont and Quebec.
It was held in conjuction
with Lake Champlain Wines (Lake Champlain Grape Growers
Association).
An overall summary of the project was given out
in a binder along with a site map showing the layout of the newly
planted trial expansion and a PowerPoint slide show. The meeting
covered the trial and its layout. I went over data collection and
basic training and canopy management. A discussion covered the trial
and its layout. We conducted a walking tour and included a
discussion of what was being done, studied and compared.
I later demonstrated how to assemble a simple
trellis system and begin to train the vines to it. The wire was
strung on one row and end anchors were demonstrated.
The demonstration vineyard block planted in 2009 was used for
this purpose.
I used the opportunity at two tour and meeting dates at the Cornell Willsboro Farm Cold Hardy Grape Variety Trial this year to briefly describe FNE10-691 with those attendees.
This year I had a number of volunteers that showed up to help with harvest in the larger vineyard. A number of them are growers with their own vineyards, so I showed them the different Training Systems and Canopy Management treatments of this trial. Again they expressed an interest in the systems and asked to be sent the final data.
Networking with Extension
Cooperative Extension personnel were used
wherever I could to help with the dissemination of data.
As stated above joint
meetings and involvement of Extension or Cornell personnel were used
whenever possible. Tim Martinson, Cornell Head Extension Associate
of Viticulture was at the August meeting in Willsboro this year.
Kevin Iungerman (project advisor) attended the field meeting in July
and at Willsboro.
I accompanied Amy Ivy of Clinton County
Cooperative Extension to a Congressional fact finding meeting held
in Tupper Lake’s Wild Center.
I discussed the importance of continuing grant work such as
this project. In attendance were Congressmen Cardoza of California
and Congressman Owens of New York.
Printed
Material
As stated above, a pamphlet binder was handed
out at a meeting which included initial planning, trellising and
training in the trial along with a PowerPoint Presentation. A copy
of this was also brought to the Clinton County Cooperative Extension
office and added to their file of material available to interested
parties. It is also available to other offices upon request.
A summary of this study is being prepared and
will be available to all interested as either printed material or in
an Excel Spreadsheet format.
News
Media
This year’s project got a bit more press
exposure with a few magazine articles. They were aimed at getting
general information out to the public and improving exposure and
public interest in cold hardy grapes.
NYS Small Farm Quarterly
http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/archive/fall10/C9.pdf
Growing Magazine.
http://www.growingmagazine.com/article.php?id=5446
Cornell’s Veraison To Harvest
Through this publicity I hope to develop a
greater understanding from the public in this valuable crop and the
future of it in our economy. This interest will help promote good
will and increased sales to all wineries and vineyards and help
foster an increased sustainability.
11.
Report Summary
The purpose of this project was to determine if
it is possible to obtain better wine grape quality using a
combination of vine training systems and canopy management. Several
vine varieties were used in the project and were trained to two
training systems each. They were further divided into two canopy
management systems of Shoot thinning and Cluster thinning and also
included control (check) in the project. Data was collected to give
comparisons of each combination for each variety. The data included
yield and comparative quality measurements through sugar and acid
levels. Based on this year’s results along with the last it seems
that an improvement in quality and yield is indeed possible through
these systems. Yields up to a hundred percent increase, while
maintaining quality, were attained just by changing training systems
and canopy management.
It was observed that the Vertical Shoot
Positioning System was the most time consuming of the ones trialed
requiring about 40 percent or more time per 4 vine panel. On my
medium vigor site, the vines on VSP appeared to have too much vigor
for the space and crop they carried making it hard to maintain an
orderly open growth habit. It made the fruit more shaded and crowded
which led to some rot and unripe fruit. It appears that the 4 Arm
Kniffen has an edge in this respect by having twice as much cordon
length to spread the same or slightly higher number of shoots on to
keep the shoot length down allowing for a more orderly, open and
easier to maintain canopy. That translated into a slight to moderate
higher yield (up to 100 percent), higher quality fruit ( see tables
on pages 8-11) and less required spray material. The Top Wire Cordon
was only used with the LaCrosse and this year was very similar in
yield and quality to the 4 Arm Kniffen.
It was easier to maintain
and pick the TWC although in most cases the 4 Arm Kniffen LaCrosse
yielded a bit higher and gave greater net income.
Based on my continuing positive results this
year, I will be expanding the trial to the new vineyard planting
established in 2009 to continue matching vine types to training
systems for maximized returns. I will likely incorporate these
training systems to increase farm viability and prosperity in the
near future.