Will pruning a grape vine earlier, advance bud break?
Being working online and offline with thousands of vineyard owners from all over the world, the past four years, I know that this question still remains a mystery. Well, I’m about to show you proof that early pruning will for sure influence the time of bud break.
During the past dormant season, we started pruning before my staff took their annual vacation. We stopped pruning one of my Flame Seedless vineyards, halfway through the vineyard, when it was time for them to take their vacation. After two weeks, we came back and pruned the rest of the vineyard, as well as the rest of my farm.
Now from the pictures below, you can clearly see that the grape vines in the section we pruned two weeks earlier, have develop more leaves and that the shoot length is much longer.
Why?
The buds at the tip of the canes come out of dormancy first. This is the point where all the enzymes are transported to, as the sap flow in the vine increase. Obviously, if there are less buds on the cane, more enzymes are available per bud and therefore, the buds will break earlier.
Early pruning will not necessarily advance the harvest date. The later vines will catch up, as the season progress, but one thing is for sure; it absolutely does advance bud break. This is extremely important to know, if you live in a climate where early spring frost is a problem. If you prune your grape vine too early, your grape vines will break bud too early and will increase the chance of frost damage.
Now the question remains: “When is the best time to prune a grape vine?” A rule of thumb is, to prune just before natural bud break, but this isn’t always feasible if you have acres of grape vines. You need to know when bud break occurs in each of the vineyards or on each of your grape vines. Each year, write down the dates of bud break, as this will give you more or less an idea of when you can expect it next year. Although the annual climate, snowfall, rain and so on, will influence the actual date of bud break, it will give you more or less an idea of when this will happen.
On the other hand, pruning too late, also has it disadvantages. If you start pruning too late (after bud bread), you will damage the cracked buds, and new shoots that developed. If you damage the bud, the secondary bud will have to break to reveal a new shoot, and this will influence your crop size.
Remember; after pruning, the canes are twisted and secured around the trellis wires. If there are small shoots and cracked buds on this cane, you will damage them, no matter how careful you work.
To sum up this article:
- Early pruning does advance bud break, but not necessarily harvest date
- Do not prune too early if your location is known for heavy spring frost
- Write down the dates of bud break so you will know when to expect it
- Do not prune too late as well, as the chances of you damaging the buds and shoots is much higher.
Know you vineyard, know your climate and you will know when to prune.
Good luck and hopefully this article shed some light on the correct pruning date for your vineyard.
Danie
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Tagged with: how to grow grapes
Filed under: growing grapes • how to grow grapes
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Hi Danie,
Looking for advice about how soon after planting my vines i can expect grapes…. I know the books say using a Double Guyot system you need to wait 3 years, i am looking for mine to bear fruit after two years as in the first year they grew 8ft tall and full of vigour, i would like to tie them down into a single Guyot for next spring and harvest my first crop in October, will i drain the vine of it’s strengh if i do that and if so why..?
Looking forward to your reply,
many thanks,
John
same as first try
ROB,
Yes you can ask me a question if you like
donot know web sight..can I still ask a ques.
Sure you are welcome to ask a question
Danie
Dani,
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I agree with you about; “The buds at the tip of the canes come out of dormancy first.” But, I have not found evidence of your second statement; “If you prune your grape vine too early, your grape vines will break bud too early and will increase the chance of frost damage.”
In my vineyard, in the Hudson river Valley, Clermont, New York, we get several frosts and this year, it came very late, May 29. I was lucky, because my vineyard is on a site with good air drainage, but, several low spots, within the vineyard, we lost a few vines.
My neighbors, some of which don’t prune or minimal prune, lost all the vines to the frost.
Anyway, getting back to your first statement; “The buds at the tip of the canes come out of dormancy first.”
We leave our canes a bit longer and then cut these longer canes, after the spring frost, which here in the Hudson River Valley, is after, on average, May 15, with exception of this year.
Do you have a way to stop the vegetated growth of vines after the harvest.
Last year, my Sangiovese and Sauvignon Blanc, kept on growing into late Novemberm due to the good weather, even after several copper sprays, then, a frost in late November, killed all the leaves and green canes. The result, was devastating. We lost most of the vines to the winter and of the ones that made it, are growing out of control. Very long, 12″ between the nodes and very thick canes, which as of today are still green, while the other 18 verities in the vineyard have nice brown canes.
Any suggestions?
Thank you again and keep up with the good work.
All the best,
Tony Trigo
Clermont vineyards, NY
Hi Tony
Thanks for the comment, very interesting.
Tony, I was referring to spring frost, not winter damage. From what I’ve experienced, and the pictures are proof – early pruning will advance bud break.
One thing to remember as well, is that certain varieties are more susceptible to cold damage than others, so it might be the case with your nabour. Also, a well developed, trained and healthy grape vine harden off much better than a neglected grape vine (your nabours’ vines??) and will withstand much colder conditions.
Over-cropping your grape vines, especially in the lower areas, can lead to weak canes that will be more susceptible to cold damage, but on the other hand, an under-cropped grape vine will have much more vegetative growth and will grow on till late in the season, when there is too little time to harden off.
Hope this will help.
Take care
Danie
Dani,
I wonder if you can help with this question. I’m situated in southern Hampshire in England. I’ve always been curious to know what is more important to ripening grapes ? Is it direct sunshine or a warmer air/ambient temperature ? Obviously one is affected by the other but it could have a big effect on the harvest date knowing how to handle the leaf cover. Thank you in anticipation, best wishes,
Bob Groves.
Hi Bob,
I suppose the one is as important as the other, especially in a cold climate like yours. Direct sunlight (or some light source), is however the source of photosynthesis, so without enough sunlight, you can heat up the green house as much as you like, I doubt if you will be able to fully ripen the grapes – poor colouring will also be a concern.
In the hotter areas of Southern Africa (Namibia, and near the Orange river), the crops are about a month earlier than where I live – so, to answer your question, YES, warmer climates will advance the harvest date.
Take care, and thanks for reading