All about the minting of grapes

Having planted several bushes of grapes on their site, many novice growers do not always know how to properly care for them. But in order to get a full harvest, it is necessary to care for the crop, ensuring regular watering, spraying and other manipulations. If most winegrowers consider these procedures to be mandatory, then not all perform pinching or chasing, although without them it is not always easy to get a full harvest. What is the chasing of grapes, how to do the procedure correctly, and in what time frame it needs to be done, will be discussed further.

Chasing is considered the recommended procedure, which is a shortening of the shoot to a length of up to 30 cm with 6-8 underdeveloped leaves on it. This is done by shortening the shoots to normal leaves. After a properly performed procedure, there should be about 15-16 full-fledged leaves on the shoots.

A novice winemaker needs to learn all the intricacies of the procedure before carrying out it. Although this technique is similar to pinching, it also has differences, because this significantly removes part of the shoot.

The task of the minting is to slow down active growth by 2-3 weeks, which leads to a redistribution of the supply of nutrients directly to the fruit.

It is generally accepted that for a good bunch weighing about 1 kg, 1 sq. meter of green mass, that is, an average of 25 leaves. Having a long shoot with a lot of leaves will allow you to get the necessary supply of nutrients for the entire bush. Due to this some growers prefer not to cut the shoots, but to spread them, placing them on top of the upper wire, believing that a large amount of foliage will increase the productivity of the bush. This option can be considered quite good, but only if if the trellis is quite high, that is, it has a height of more than 2.5 meters.

Still, most winegrowers consider minting to be a necessary procedure.

Thanks to its implementation:

• there is an acceleration of the ripening of the vine with bunches;

• the growth of young shoots slows down;

• the bush becomes more illuminated, which facilitates the access of air and sunlight;

• the quantity of the crop, its quality improves;

• the plant is being prepared for wintering.

It is advisable to make such manipulations on bushes with an average ripening period, since it is they who have a predisposition to the rapid growth of green mass. In this case, nutrients will be spent just on building up greenery, and not on forming a bunch.

The timing of minting can be completely different and depend on the variety of grapes grown. Pruning is done at a time when the growth of a young vine stops. The signal for the procedure is the straightening of the shoots in their upper part. The active growth of the shoots leads to the inclination of the branch and the bending of the shoot.

• For early varieties it is recommended to be minted in the summer - from mid-July to the first ten days of August.

• In August manipulations are carried out on both mid-season and late varieties. Dates for mid-season varieties can range from August 1-15.

• For late varieties the most suitable dates for such a procedure are August 10-20.

• If grapes are grown in greenhouses or greenhouses, minting on such bushes is carried out starting from mid-July, when the shoots grow more than 1 meter.

There are many recommendations on the timing of the minting. According to the majority, it is better to carry out the procedure when the grapes have reached the upper wire.

Summer minting can be called a compulsory sanitary measure to reduce the thickening of the vineyard.

Tips for aspiring winegrowers will help you minting right. First of all, you should take care of the availability of a suitable tool in the form of a pruner. You can also pinch the top of the shoot with your hands.

During the procedure, a number of actions should be performed.

• Remove the upper part of the shoot, which has up to 19 leaves... The distance should be about 7 leaves.

• Next, you should also pluck the foliage growing above the upper brushes. Thanks to this, the size of the berries will increase, their taste and color will improve.

• The procedure is carried out at a right angle. Shoots should be cut to the height of an outstretched arm, that is, focusing on the height of the trellis.

With double pinching, the buds remaining below the stepson will not bloom earlier than planned.

You can carry out the procedure, guided by the Kurdyumov method. To do this, take the tops of young shoots in their hands and determine their level of rigidity. Young, soft leaves must be removed, and those that have already become tough are left.

All manipulations in the vineyard must be carried out within the specified time frame, taking into account the weather conditions. Failure to comply with the requirements can lead to loss of yield, lower quality of fruits, deterioration of their taste.

• If the procedure is carried out too early, the stepsons will begin to grow very quickly, which will lead to a weakening of the bush, a decrease in the ovary. Chasing, made during the active development of shoots, can lead to the direction of nutrient components not to the development of bunches and strengthening of the vine, but to the development of new shoots, which will have to be broken off in the future. The procedure carried out earlier than the scheduled date can push the fertile buds saved for the next year to awaken, and they can begin to bloom already in the current season.

• Too late coinage also makes no sense, since all the necessary substances that the vine received have already been consumed, therefore redistributing them will no longer work.

• Chasing is also considered incorrect if the growers remove only the crown. When the growth point is removed, the still unformed leaves will take up a lot of nutrition until they are fully formed. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to remove a part of the vine up to 40 cm along with the leaves.

It is worth familiarizing yourself with the helpful tips from experienced winegrowers to achieve a good harvest. Although coinage is considered an important procedure by many growers, it is not recommended in some cases.

Let us analyze in which cases it is not worth doing manipulations.

• In a very hot summer, without rain, because when shortening the shoots, there may be traces of burns on the leaves and bunches.

• Chasing is not carried out if grapes grow on arches or arbors... In this case, the plants receive enough light, are well ventilated, and have strong and sturdy shoots. All these factors lead to good development and, as a result, to a decent harvest.

• It is undesirable to make chasing for a young one-year-old bush, since its shoots have not grown enough. Pruning can lead to the fact that the supply of necessary substances for young bushes may not be enough for the winter. On vigorous bushes, chasing is best done when the shoots begin to reach the ground.

• And it is also not recommended to shorten the shoots on wine varieties, since they usually have a minimum of green mass, grow small. In this case, chasing is more suitable for table varieties.

In addition, you should not cut off shoots weakened by diseases or attacks of insect pests.

After carrying out the manipulations, it is advisable to treat the vineyard with fungicidal preparations. In the last summer days or at the beginning of autumn, root and foliar potassium-phosphorus dressings are carried out.