Effects of Mechanical Pruning on the Yield and Quality of Muscadine Grapes

¹ Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Dixie muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) were mechanically pruned and then either adjusted to 800 or 400 nodes per vine or not hand pruned following trimming for three consecutive years. Vines were trained to a quadrilateral cordon system and mechanical pruning cuts were made 15 to 20 cm from the cordon. Mechanical pruning with no touch-up resulted in much higher yields during the first and second year, but not the third. Vines hand pruned to 400 nodes had the lowest yield during all three years. Increasing pruning severity increased berry weight and generally increased soluble solids and pH. Wine produced from the mechanically pruned vines with no touch-up had a weaker muscadine aroma intensity and a lighter color in the first year, but wines produced from this treatment in subsequent years were similiar in muscadine character and color to wines from the other treatments.

Key words: pruning, machine pruning, muscadine grapes, Vitis rotundifolia, wine quality