One of the most important and must-have activities in grape care is pruning the vine in the fall. The yield of the bush next year depends on the timing of pruning and the correctness of its implementation. Later in the article, we will look at different options for pruning grapes for beginners and find out if it is possible to pick the leaves.
Why prune a vineyard in the fall before winter
The need for pruning is as follows:
- By cutting off excess shoots, the growers thereby redirect the amount of nutrients from the soil to healthier shoots.
- The frost resistance of the vine increases;
- As a result of the autumn formation of the bush, the yield increases. Growing back, young shoots will not shade the neighboring ones;
- If you cut the branches regularly, the berries in the brush will be large in size and without loss of taste;
- The process of covering the vine for the winter is greatly simplified;
- The process of fruit ripening is accelerated, since in the spring the buds open before the active movement of the juices begins in the vine.
Spring and fall times to cut branches
The grapes are pruned depending on the variety and region of growth. For non-covering varieties, autumn pruning can be performed at any time before the active growth of the shoots begins. In the case when winter is characterized by severe frosts, then cut off the branches in the spring.
Autumn pruning for dummies is of two types:
- preliminary;
- main.
Pre-cut carried out in early October before the onset of frost. All green shoots should be removed. It is not recommended to trim brown shoots that are crispy when bent.
Basic trim performed from 15 to 30 October, that is, after the onset of the first frost. After the preliminary cut, 14 days must pass. After inspecting the bush, all dried, damaged, not ripe, very thin shoots, as well as those that have an incorrect location, are removed. Those fruit vines that are better developed than others are cut into arrows.
Spring pruning is carried out at a time when the air temperature becomes + 3 degrees. Later it is not recommended to carry out this procedure, as the cuts on the vine will tighten very slowly. This is one of the disadvantages of spring pruning. Another negative factor is that with abundant flow of juice with a vertical garter, it can get on the fruit buds, which will significantly reduce the yield, and can cause trunk rot.
Before proceeding with spring pruning, you need to check the trunk for damage and assess the condition of the bush in order to understand how much load the trunk can be given. The spring procedure is divided into:
- short;
- medium;
- long.
The difference in the number of shoots growing from one root and their length. When pruning in the fall on the vine, you need to leave the number of buds with a margin. In the spring, until the moment when the bush begins to develop rapidly, normalization is performed. The vine is rejuvenated by creating a new sleeve, and the old one is removed, leaving no more than 10 cm.
The cut must be performed in the direction of movement of the juices. At the same time, the young shoot is developing rapidly. Along the way, it is necessary to leave a few replacement vines. They will serve to shape the vines in future seasons.
Summer pruning is essential for the bush. It regulates the yield.
By the summer, experienced growers already quite clearly understand how many bunches must be left on the vine so as not to overload the bush. Excess bunches left on the vine will lead to the depletion of the bush, and their insufficiency will lead to the formation of unnecessary stepsons.
Advantages of the summer cut:
- helps to create the required vine size;
- remove excess green mass pulling juices;
- create free access of air and light to the bunches during the period of fruit filling.
At the initial stage of development, it is necessary to remove all weak processes, after the formation of 2 brushes, the top of the vine is pinched through 5 leaves. Do not leave the vine long because the berries will be sour. All stepchildren, mustaches and extra leaves are also removed. In August, in order to accelerate the ripening of fruits, it is necessary to carry out a hard cut of the shoots.
Cut-off stepchildren cannot be left on the ground. This contributes to the development of diseases!
How to prune the vine correctly in the first year
Young grapes are pruned to:
- forming sleeves;
- growth stimulation;
- ensuring a good harvest.
In a young bush, 1 year old, the top is removed, leaving only two to four buds. They retreat 1 cm from the last peephole upward and perform a cut. This will be the basis for the fruiting sleeves for next year.
In a 2-year-old vine, replacement knots are formed by cutting off the appendix into two eyes. Leave from 4 to 6 buds on the other process. The bush is cut in the same way as in the first year of life, while the harvest will be only in a year, and the bush will become much stronger.
When pruning a three-year-old bush, replacement knots and a fruiting shoot are formed. The replacement knots should be located below the main shoot and should be pruned by 3 eyes. It is necessary to leave from five to ten buds at the main shoot. On some varieties, you can leave 10 to 12 buds on the shoot. With this procedure, the bush forms 4-6 fruiting arms in three years. This is quite enough for the ripening of the crop.
The purpose of the autumn procedure for young seedlings is the correct formation of the bush. Many novice growers make the mistake of not pruning for the first two years, not wanting to delay the harvest. This leads to the fact that the bush is too thick and extra shoots pull on a large amount of nutrients. In addition, uncut bushes will be more difficult to cover for the winter.
Tools for trimming bushes
To properly prune grapes, you will need the following tool:
- garden pruner;
- files, hacksaws;
- garden knives.
Secateurs are used when removing one and two-year-old bushes with a vine thickness of no more than one and a half centimeters. In order to make a smoother cut, use pruning shears with two blades.
If the thickness of the perennial vine is less than eight centimeters, bow saws are used for pruning. With a thickness of more than 8 cm, trimming is performed with a hacksaw. In hard-to-reach places, it is recommended to carry out using a lopper.
Before performing work, the tool must be sharpened and processed.
Schemes of different types of pruning for old and young vines
Currently, there are several types of shaping scraps:
- fan;
- bowl-shaped;
- capitate;
- cordon;
- one-sided and two-sided.
Fan pruning in spring
The convenience of this pruning is that with this option it is easy to replace the sleeves and adjust the number of fruit buds, and it is also convenient to cover the vine for the winter. On a single-lane trellis place from two to four sleeves, and on a two-lane from 4 to 8. On each sleeve, replace knots and 2-3 fruit arrows are left. The length of the sleeves should be different. This contributes to good lighting of the vine.
In the first year, it is necessary to leave 1-2 shoots with several eyes. There should be several new shoots on the vine next year.
In the second year, if one process has developed, then 2 to 4 buds are left on it. If two have developed, then 2-3 buds are left on each. The third process should be cut short. It will serve for the formation of the following processes. If there are 4 shoots, then it is necessary to form sleeves of them.
In the third year, 3 eyes are left on each shoot, so as not to load the vine. One inflorescence should be left on each sleeve in order to control the quality of the fruit. It is also necessary to form fruit links on the new sleeves. Provided that the vines are 2 years thicker than 7 mm. it is possible to leave on processes 6-7 buds for the formation of new processes.
In subsequent years, the shape of the bush is maintained by cutting off the arrows and fruit shoots from which the harvest has been taken. Held in the summer months. Sleeves should be renewed every seven or eight years.
Cup shape
This pruning is used if the stakes are the support for the bush. The size of the bowl depends on the size of the sleeves. If the sleeve is up to 50 cm long, then the bowl will be small. With a size of 50 to 70 cm - a medium bowl. Over 70 cm - large bowl.
The disadvantages of this type are:
- twisting the vine will lead to a deterioration in the intake of nutrients;
- leaves shade each other and receive a small amount of light;
- poor air access.
The technique is identical over the years to fan pruning.
Head bush
Use this form for grafted bushes. The sleeves are cut on the seedling. Five knots remain on the head with two buds on each. Vines will grow from them in the future.
Cordon bush formation
1st year leave 2-3 buds on the bush to form powerful shoots.
2nd year with the onset of spring, young sleeves will grow, they will serve as a cordon. After budding, thinning must be performed. The shoots are left every 30 cm. From the grown shoots, replacement knots are made, leaving 2-3 eyes on them.
In the following years, it is necessary to increase the length of the sleeve and the number of arrows. The replacement of the cordons must be done one by one. This will help avoid crop loss.
How you can do an anti-aging pruning
There are two methods of rejuvenation - full and partial.
Partial rejuvenation can be done when sleeves are formed at the bottom of the bush. When pruning in the fall, two buds are left on them. The old sleeves are partially cut, and some are cut according to the scheme:
- leave 6-7 buds on the upper shoot;
- the lower shoot is cut for replacement bitches.
In subsequent years, the sleeves of the second and third rows are formed from powerful substitutes. One part of the old vine is cut out, and 5-6 eyes are left on the other.
In the 4th year, the old sleeves are removed completely. Sections are covered with garden pitch. Young shoots form into a new bush.
Complete rejuvenation... Cutting off old shrubs completely leads to the awakening of the buds on the bush and stumps. In spring, shoots grow actively and, under favorable conditions, they grow up to two meters. The next year, the first crop is removed from the shoots and a new bush is formed. Cutting off old sleeves makes it possible to rid the new bush of pests that have formed nests in the old sleeves, as well as to renew the above-ground part of the bush.
Pruning grapes on an arch for beginners
There are several forms of arch trimming:
- semi-covering;
- cordon;
- one-shoulder cordon;
- fan-sleeve.
If the grapes are not covering, in this case a half-covered formation will do. With this formation, vines are taken away from the main sleeve, which are placed on the upper trellis... A spare sleeve is located on the lower trellis. It should be the same length as the main one. At the very bottom of the bush, it is necessary to leave a coppice shoot and cut it off once a year - in the fall. Together with a spare shoot, they cover it for the winter. In case of a successful wintering, in the summer the shoots that have grown from the spare sleeve are cut into 2-3 buds and several powerful shoots are grown from them.
If the main shoot is badly damaged in winter, it is cut out and the spare is raised to the upper trellis, and the coppice shoot replaces the spare. With this type of formation, you can harvest once a year.
How to prune a running bush
It is necessary to prune a neglected bush in early spring or late autumn. First you need to remove the old, damaged vines. To do this, an incision is made on the vine with a sharp knife. If the vine is green in the cut, then it is alive. If the vine is dry when cut, then the vine is cut again, closer to the base. If the color is the same vine is removed completely. It is recommended to prune branches step by step.
1st step:
- It is best to prune before the first frost or in spring before April 1... It is necessary to remove all unripe or dry shoots, cut out all parts that have a gray or black bark. If the sleeve is frozen, then it is removed completely.
- After removing all extinct areas, examine the remaining shoots. Leave those on which there are 10-12 buds and the thickness will be at least 5 cm. If there are few such shoots, in this case everything is left. Of the short ones, only those that will be at least 5 cm thick are left. They are left in five pieces per 2 running meters of trellis. They should be evenly spaced along the trellis.
- Annual shoots are 85% removed.
- In the summer, the buds of perennial sleeves will wake up and give a large number of shoots. All these shoots must be removed. As a result of such pruning, the yield will not be large, but the taste of the fruit will be much higher.
2nd step:
- At the end of October, before the onset of frost, leaves, whiskers, stepsons must be cut off from the shoots. It is also necessary to remove all weak shoots less than 4 cm thick.
- In subsequent years, when pruning, form fruit links.
Vine care after pruning
If the pruning was carried out in the summer, then after this procedure, before the autumn pruning, you must:
- Perform pinching. It is performed by shortening the shoots, leaving 5 leaves above each bunch of grapes, and also pinching the tip of the vine to stop growth.
- Tying up shoots that have grown over the lower trellis by more than 22 cm.
- Watering and feeding;
- Carry out the chasing of the vine, leaving 14 leaves of the top on the shoots, cut off.
- Conduct treatment against diseases and pests with fungicides. For this it is best to use "Topaz". Insecticides must be used to control pests. Processing is carried out 3 times per season.
Stop any processing 21 days before harvest. If fungal diseases are found, process the entire vineyard!
After the autumn pruning, you must:
- Water it abundantly so that the soil is well saturated with moisture before winter.
- Loosen the soil near the bush well to prevent moisture stagnation and provide oxygen to the roots.
- Add humus or rotted manure to the soil.
- With the onset of the first frosts, cover the grapes for the winter. For this, pine branches, sawdust, peat, hay are suitable.
By properly pruning your bushes and taking care of your vineyard regularly, you can deservedly expect a good harvest next year. You can trim any grapes, including Isabella.