‘MINIMALLY INVASIVE’ VINE PRUNING
‘The health of the vine does not begin in the foliage, but at the roots and trunk. During annual pruning, the correct positioning of the spur and orientation of the two basal buds take absolute priority over other considerations.’
New vine architecture with Guyot double ramifications and central cordon
- Raising the grape zone to a height of 1 metre
- consequently greater distance to the pathogen reservoirs at the bottom and top of the vine
- Less radiant heat from the ground
- Re-training the vines for controlled ramification in a 2-arm pin/stretcher system (Guyot double)
- initial positioning of two suitable pins below and parallel to the wire system
- and orientation of the first and second eye of these pegs perpendicular to the wire system
- the lower eye becomes the new cane the following year, the upper eye the new fruiting cane
- so that the cones and the two basal eyes are always positioned neatly perpendicular and orientated to the wire system during further annual pruning
- consequently minimal pruning trauma with 4 small, non-infection-prone wound areas on the upper side of the respective ramification
- no drying wedges
- no formation of a stunted head
- maximum, laterally balanced and uncompromised physiological sap flow
- improved overall defence against infection for the vine, more even flowering with balanced vine load into the two ramifications
‘This type of pruning can therefore be described as “minimally invasive”, to borrow a term from human medicine.’