Influence of Training System and Pruning Severity on Yield, Vine Size, and Fruit Composition of Vignoles Grapevines

¹ Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.

Vignoles grapevines were trained to four training systems: (1) high cordon - a bilateral cordon at the top wire (1.8 m); (2) low cordon - a bilateral cordon at the bottom wire (1.0 m); (3) high head - a head with the trunk maintained at or just below the top wire; and (4) low head - a low head with the trunk maintained at or just above the bottom wire. In addition, three pruning severities were applied (15 + 15, 20 + 20, and 25 + 25). Data were collected over a seven-year period from 1983 through 989. The vines were evaluated for yield, vine size maintenance, fruit quality, winter damage, and vine canopy characteristics. Vines trained to the high cordon system were superior to other training systems in yield and the equivalent or better than other systems with relation to vine size and fruit maturity indices. Tentatively, we propose that crop may be controlled via a linear pruning severity of 15 + 15.

Key words: canopy microclimate, trellising, pruning

Submitted on July 25, 1990

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