The Effect of Vine Architecture in New England Vineyards Gouveia Vineyard Wallingford, CT Francis J. Ferrandino Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
The Effect of Vine Architecture in New England Vineyards
Gouveia VineyardWallingford, CT
Francis J. FerrandinoDepartment of Plant Pathology and Ecology
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Background and Rationale:
Most inland New England growers continue to depend on French-American hybrids or other
cold-hardy cultivars for the bulk of their production.
These hybrids are much more vigorous than the old-world vinifera
Saint Croix
Can different canopy structure increase productivity?
… without affecting fruit quality?
To answer these questions we established a 0.5 A plot at
Gouveia Vineyard in Wallingford CT
Treatments Four training systems were followed:
• Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)– Mid-wire trained– Catch wires above– Hedged
• Hudson River Umbrella (HRU)– Top-wire trained– Combed
• Smart-Dyson (SD)– Vertically divided canopy, mid-wire trained.– Catch wires above and below
• Geneva Double Curtain (GDC)– Horizontally divided canopy, top-wire trained.– Combed
VSPVertical Shoot Positioning
HRUHudson River Umbrella
Pruning Method
• Fruit is borne on canes from last years buds.• A single cane from last year can supply many
buds.• Cane pruning uses last year’s canes to become
a cordon.• Spur pruning cuts back the cordon to last
years wood.
Cane Pruning
Spur Pruning
Split Canopies
The more cordon length … more potential yield
• Vertical splitting … Smart Dyson• Horizontal splitting … Geneva Double Curtain
VSPVertical Shoot Positioning
SD/SHSmart Dyson- Scott Henry
HRUHudson River Umbrella
GDCGeneva Double Curtain
Treatments Four training systems were followed:
• Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)– Mid-wire trained– Catch wires above– Hedged
• Hudson River Umbrella (HRU)– Top-wire trained– Combed
• Smart-Dyson (SD)– Vertically divided canopy, mid-wire trained.– Catch wires above and below
• Geneva Double Curtain (GDC)– Horizontally divided canopy, top-wire trained.– Combed
2015 was a DRY year!
• There were no major disease problems• Yield depended on cordon length• Cane-pruned vines suffered winter damage!
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Yiel
d (k
g)2015
Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
0
1
2
3
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Yiel
d/m
eter
(kg
/m)
2015Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
2014 was a wet year!
• Downy Mildew was a major problem• Grape leaves close to the ground stay wet
longer• This resulted in yield loss for VSP and SD/SH
treatments.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Yiel
d (k
g)
2014Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Yiel
d (k
g/m
eter
)Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
2014
What about Quality?
• Fruit analysis was relatively constant for all treatments
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Brix
2015Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
Brix
2014Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
3.00
3.20
3.40
3.60
3.80
4.00
4.20
4.40
4.60
4.80
5.00
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
pH2015Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
3.00
3.20
3.40
3.60
3.80
4.00
4.20
4.40
4.60
4.80
5.00
GDC HRU SD/SH VSP
pH2014Cane 1.83 m
Spur 1.83 m
Spur 2.44 m
Results
• Doubling cordon length doubles yield• This requires twice the pruning and training• However, more inter-row spacing may reduce
efficiency.• Low canopies are more prone to disease • Denser canopies promote fruit rots
The Effect of Vine Architecture in New England Vineyards
Gouveia VineyardWallingford, CT
Francis J. FerrandinoDepartment of Plant Pathology and Ecology
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment [email protected]