Cultivation and Management Techniques of Grapevines
This article introduces the cultivation and management techniques of grapevines and the best time for topping grapevines in green planting, as follows:
When to plant the grapevines? How to plant them? The grape planting team of Daily Farming is here to tell you! This includes pre-planting preparations,注意事项 during planting, and the first year's pruning, fertilization, and comprehensive management of diseases and pests, helping you better understand these daily management practices to achieve early fruiting and high yield. It is hoped that this will be of help to the majority of new and old grape growers.
When to Plant Grapevines?
Grapevines require a minimum temperature of around 14 degrees Celsius, so planting is generally done in spring. March is a good time for planting grapevines in spring, with a greenhouse needed for outdoor planting to shield from wind and rain. In autumn, the planting period is from mid-July to August. Autumn-planted grapevines fruit earlier than spring-planted ones, often yielding fruit in the second year. It usually takes 2-3 years for grapevines to bear fruit, with some variation between different varieties.
Recent research shows that larger grapevines planted in autumn have better results than those planted in spring. The temperature change in autumn is more stable, with smaller amplitude than in spring, and the humidity of the air and soil is higher. Compared to spring, autumn is more conducive to wound healing and new root growth. Therefore, the survival rate of grapevines planted in autumn can normally reach over 90%, much higher than that of spring planting.
Autumn planting can also shorten the period to full yield. Grapevines planted in autumn do not need to recover, and the development time of germination and growth is about one month earlier than that of spring planting. Some grapevines can bloom and bear fruit in the same year, and the next year they can mature. This is much faster than spring planting, where it takes two years for vines to bloom and bear fruit, and only a few plants will have fruit in the second year, usually reaching the fruiting period in the third year, a year later than autumn planting.
Autumn planting of grapevines can also avoid the competition with other crops for fertilizer and water. The planting of grapevines is done after other crops have been watered and fertilized. This effectively prevents other crops from competing with grapevines for nutrients, meeting the nutritional needs of autumn-planted grapevines and ensuring their growth quality.
In the Huanghai region, if the planting of grapevines starts in the second half of October, it ends by the end of November, with a period of about 50 days, which is 10 days longer than the spring planting period. This helps extend the recovery period of grapevines, indirectly advancing the planting by a year. Spring planted grapevines are prone to bleeding due to higher temperatures and a later recovery period than autumn planting, so autumn planting is better.
Seedling Planting Method
Before planting, the seedlings should be pruned appropriately, removing dead stubs, leaving 3 or more buds, shortening long lateral roots, and leaving about 15 centimeters of the root. After pruning, the seedlings should be soaked in clean water for a day or can be soaked in a liquid mixture of decomposed manure. The purpose of soaking is to replenish moisture lost during transportation, helping the seedlings adapt to the environment and improving the survival rate of the grapes.
When planting, dig shallow holes 30 centimeters deep every 0.5 meters, place the prepared seedlings with the roots dipped or soaked into the planting holes, spread the roots around a circular soil pile, avoid circling the roots, and ensure the roots are tightly connected with the soil. Fill the soil back around the seedlings while tamping the soil around the roots. Cover the grafting site with soil 1 centimeter below and the cutting seedlings level with the surface of the planting trench. After planting, water thoroughly once, then cover with soil after the water has penetrated, ensuring the roots are not exposed. Do not place farmyard manure or chemical fertilizers in the planting holes to prevent burning the seedlings.
After planting, cover the ground with black plastic film to maintain soil moisture, prevent water loss, reduce weed growth, and keep the ground temperature, accelerating grape growth. In arid areas, cover the soil with sandy loam to a height of 2 centimeters above the highest bud eye to prevent the buds from drying out, then water again after 5 days to ensure the seedlings survive. It is best to use plastic film mulching, which is beneficial for raising ground temperature and moisture retention, promoting root growth.
After the grape seedlings sprout, top dressing should begin. During the seedling stage, nitrogen fertilizer should be applied to promote root growth, repair root damage, and shape the plant. After fertilizing, water promptly to keep the soil moist. Generally, in the later growth stage, reduce the amount and frequency of watering and pay attention to drainage during the rainy season.
Grapevine seedlings are very susceptible to black spot and white rot diseases, and in the later stage, they are prone to downy mildew. Before germination, alternate spraying with lime sulfur solution 6-7 times. When the seedlings have 8 leaves, spray once with bactericidal agent. It is also necessary to clean the orchard regularly, cut off diseased branches and fruits, and reduce the occurrence of diseases.
Management Techniques for Seedlings in the First Year
Shoot Thinning and Branch Setting
After planting, it is very important to remove unnecessary buds, set branches, and pinch the tips. When the bud eyes germinate, promptly remove the buds below the grafting joint to avoid the growth of suckers that consume nutrients and affect the germination of the scion buds and the growth of new shoots. When the height reaches 20 centimeters, thin branches according to planting density and shaping requirements, removing extra branches, keeping strong branches, and allowing the nutrients to concentrate on the remaining branches for plant growth.
Top Dressing
The key to early high-yield cultivation is fertilizer and water management. When the new shoots grow to about 30-35 centimeters, dig a circular trench 30 centimeters away from the seedlings and apply nitrogen fertilizer (urea) at a rate of 15-20 kilograms per 667 square meters, then water immediately after fertilizing, followed by timely soil loosening. Since the roots of newly planted seedlings are small and absorb less nutrients, it is advisable to apply fertilizers frequently but in small amounts, with 2-3 applications per year, 20-30 days apart. Apply nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer in the later stage. As the seedlings grow, move the trench outward appropriately and increase the amount of fertilizer based on the growth of the seedlings. After top dressing, water promptly, loosen the soil, and control weeds.
Training
When the seedlings have 10-12 leaves (when tendrils begin to appear), start binding the vines as they grow.
Pinching
When the seedlings reach 1 meter in height, pinch the main shoot and handle the lateral shoots. First, remove the lateral shoots below 30 centimeters from the ground, and leave 1-2 leaves on the upper lateral shoots for repeated pinching. Stronger lateral shoots can be left with 4-5 leaves for repeated pinching. When the main shoot reaches 1.5 meters in length, pinch again. In areas with good seedling management, plants can reach about 2 meters by the beginning of September, and the last pinch of the main shoot should be done. Multiple pinching can promote thickening of the vines, lignification of branches, and flower bud differentiation.
Disease and Pest Control
The main pests are green stink bugs, grape phylloxera (felt disease), and golden beetles; the main diseases include black spot, white rot, anthracnose, powdery mildew, and downy mildew. It is necessary to use pesticides appropriately according to the occurrence of diseases and pests. It is essential to use various chemical pesticides scientifically.
Winter Pruning
In winter pruning, cut at a fully mature diameter of about 0.8-1 centimeters (depending on the shaping requirements). When the lateral shoots on the main shoot are about 0.5 centimeters thick, leave 1-2 buds for short cutting as the resultant parent branches for the next year. Remove fallen leaves, dead branches, and weeds, and cut branches with bacteria during winter pruning.
The above-mentioned cultivation and management techniques of grapevines and the best time for topping grapevines are hoped to bring a little help to your life!