Being a nutritious crop, the quality and quantity production of grapes is based on the technology used, climatic conditions, variety of the crop and other agricultural management practices.
Pruning is essential to enable crop flowering and the practice need decision making and accuracy. Heavy pruning give less results in heavy crops with better crop quality and light pruning results in heavy crop but of less quality.
Crop pruning
Full time buds dont open properly as shoot growth is continuous. Pruning is essential to enable crop flowering while vegetative growth is limited hence one pruning in winter and summer. Tender growth after pruning should not drain. Winter should not commence before 10 days after pruning.
Secondly, summer pruning is done in March and June and only one of the two buds of tertiary shoots are retained on secondary shoot on back pruning which give out healthy and strong shoot.
Similarly, winter pruning is done in last week of September or before october end. Shoots grow for 6 months after summer pruning up to required length. Number of shoots retained depend on variety. Forward pruning is again done in summer other than back pruning.
Garden is divided into blocks and pruning is done at different times to extend crop ingredient. In double cropping system, quality of vine is low due to over exploitation of vein even total of yield is low. It increases pest and disease build up also hence one crop per year is best practice.
Pruning needs decision making and accuracy. Heavy pruning give less yield with better crop quality while light pruning results in heavy crop but of less quality. Light pruning is preferred if vine grows excellent in good management condition. Heavy crop vine results into necrosis of bunches. Medium or less crop is advisable if last season crop was heavy.
Furthermore, more number of twigs for flowering are retained on health vines with vigorous growth. Go for heavy pruning of big vines and retain fewer canes on a trunk. Partially growing green canes, canes with long internodes will not bare flowers. Retain lengthier thick and shorter thin canes for optimum growth.
Shoots are pitched off after 5 leaves after 30-35 days after back pruning. 1 or 2 sub canes are allowed to grow on main cane which restrict growth of main cane and helps for better decision making during forward pruning.
Finally, it also avoids retention of unnecessary shoots.
