Pruning grapes in the fall for beginners - recommendations. Summer pruning of grapes When to remove leaves from grapes

The bushes are already ready to sleep, on some the leaves are even turning yellow - fig. 1, It's time to do leaf removal work. Science says that once the leaves are removed, the nutrition stored in annual vines moves into the perennial branches and root system. This process takes approximately ten days to complete. About two weeks before pruning the bushes, I remove the leaves on the bushes.

Video - Removing leaves before pruning
Some tips for doing the work are from practice.
It is before removing the leaves that it is best to prepare cuttings for grafting or for growing seedlings. It was at this time, before the leaves are removed, that the maximum amount of nutrients has accumulated in the annual mature vines, which will be very useful for the cuttings for growing roots and green shoots after planting in the soil.
The soil under my vineyard is mulched - fig. 2. To deposit
When fertilizing, I remove the mulch beforehand. I feed the bushes with humus. Since I don’t dig up the soil under the bushes, I spread the humus over the surface. Humus scattered over the surface must be covered to reduce the loss of nutrients from the humus, which can simply evaporate. So I cover it with a layer of mulch. In addition, I also leave the leaves that I will pick from the vines under the bushes. They are blown away very easily by the wind. To prevent this from happening, I also cover the leaves with a layer of mulch. To perform this work, you need to first remove the mulch.
So, in order.

First, I move the mulch layer to the side, clearing the soil under the trellis plane, on which I will remove the leaves - fig. 3. Add superphosphate to the freed surface and spread a layer of humus. Then I pick the leaves from the vines and lay them on top of the humus, rice. 4, after which I cover them with a layer of mulch - fig. 5 At the same time, I remove the mulch from the area where I will lay the vines for winter cover. Here the applied fertilizers have to be buried in the soil. I do it either with a cultivator or
I dig the soil shallowly with a shovel.
If you apply fertilizer annually on the surface of the soil, when watering or rainwater is applied, the food will constantly be washed deeper, gradually reaching the roots.
In the fall, fertilizers are applied that do not move very quickly in the soil - phosphorus, magnesium. By spring they will have reached the root depth. The main supplier of nitrogen is humus, which can be applied both in autumn and spring. It’s more convenient for me to do this in the fall - there’s enough work in the spring.
I simply break off the leaves with my hands. At the same time, unripe stumps from stepchildren are easily removed along with the leaves. At the top of the plane there remain only “bouquets” of the stepsons that grew here all summer - fig. 6. I remove them separately, cutting them off with scissors. Such pieces of vine decompose poorly in the soil, so I burn them at the stake.
After the work is completed, the vines remain clean and ready for pruning - fig.
7. Once again I draw your attention - this is clearly visible in the photo - to the absence of stumps from stepsons on the vines. Let me remind you that I completely remove the stepsons on vertical shoots. I leave stepsons, growth points, on the tops so that the shoots have a place to continue growing, and with the correct balance of nutrition, no awakening of the “overwintering buds” occurs.
I leave the leaves under the bushes, regardless of whether they are damaged by diseases. Decomposition under a layer of mulch will also destroy the germs of pathogens on the leaves, and this will not affect the degree of disease in the bushes - this is my opinion. In addition, in addition to leaves, there are enough sources of infection in the vineyard, and diseased leaves will not play a special role here - this is not summer.

But still, the main advice is that less is more. If you gain experience, then you can expand your plantings. After all, the actions will already be brought to automaticity.

Watch free online video tips for gardeners - vegetable gardeners, summer residents - Do I need to pick off grape leaves from the TV show “Home. Garden. Garden"

(translation of the TV show House, garden, vegetable garden)
We have now come to the grapes. It is still just maturing, but the unfaithful already needs care.

(Told by gardener Tatiana Linevich). I watch him all the time and see what needs to be done. And as you can see, every vine is growing and has reached the top trellis. As I told you, we take stepsons and continue tying them up. Now is the period when after hot days it started to rain. Therefore, many questions arose: “What should be done with the grapes, because they started to hurt.” So, grapes definitely need disease prevention. It’s quite difficult to talk about this, because when I distribute seedlings and then ask about care, not everyone does what is needed. You must understand for yourself that it is better to plant fewer plants and take good care of them than many, but not have time to pay attention to them. I also don't have enough time. So I started with a few bushes. Until the skill is brought to automaticity.

For example, green care operations. You should feel that the plant has enough of everything. Many people overfeed grapes with nitrogen. I see that the bushes grow 5 - 6 meters long, thickened, so the plant begins to hurt. When the weather changes, each plant must be treated individually. When it grows poorly, it needs one feeding; when it is fattening, then another. You cannot overload a grape bush, because then there will be a lot of berries, but they will not ripen. Therefore, the first principle is less, but better.

When the grapes are already forming you need to pick off the grape leaves around them to get more sun. Because it is a southern crop that requires a lot of sun. But again in moderation. You don’t need to take everything and break it off by a meter. When a lot of leaves are plucked, the grapes become stressed. This can spread diseases. Therefore, for now, below the bunches on the grapes, tear off 2 - 3 leaves. After all, burns can occur from strong sun, so remove several leaves gradually. We do the same with tomatoes. A late variety may not be broken off at all. For example, my early variety begins to ripen on August 14 - this one is already starting to break off. So you need to come every 3-4 days and pick off leaves here and there on the grapes.

Also look at the bunches themselves, how they develop, there is no disease. When you see the presence of a disease on at least one leaf, you immediately need to carry out preventive spraying.

What is it that grows separately in your place, it is clear that it is a different variety.
- This is a new variety called Preobrazhenie. I want to look at it when it ripens; it has enough time in our conditions to ripen. This is also a covering variety. I have already tried others, but I don’t know how this one will behave yet.

In traditional viticultural regions, such as Spain or the south of France, the vines are pruned only in spring and autumn. At the same time, the removal of shoots is aimed at the formation of a bush, improvement and renewal of the vine. The further south the growing area, the more sun the berries get and the longer the growing season of the plant. The main problem with growing grapes and ripening berries in the middle zone is the lack of heat and light.

Summer helps to partially compensate for the shortness of the Russian summer and create conditions for obtaining the highest quality harvest. It, unlike the spring one, does not affect the woody parts of the vine, but is aimed exclusively at green shoots, foliage and ovaries.

Therefore, operations carried out in the summer are often called green operations and include breaking and chasing shoots, removing stepsons, ringing, as well as crop regulation and thinning of leaves.

How to prune grapes before flowering?

After pruning in the spring, the gardener’s attention to the grape bushes should not weaken, since along with the fruit eyes, fatty shoots emanating from the old parts of the vine or from the base of the shoots also grow. When and how to prune grapes in the summer from unnecessary shoots at this stage? Grapes are removed in the last ten days of May or early summer, when new green shoots reach a length of 15–20 cm and are easily removed.

With proper cutting of shoots on the bush and pruning of grapes in the summer, you can achieve:

If the tops are not broken off in time, they develop at the expense of nutrients, which at this time are extremely necessary for flowering and the formation of the ovary. In addition, fatty shoots shade the bush, prevent the penetration of air and sunlight into the crown and even prevent the formation of future berries.

At the same time, when pruning grapes in July or earlier, wild shoots growing from the underground part of the bush are removed, but cultivated shoots are left without inflorescences, if they are needed in the future for the formation of grapes. The stronger the plant, the more shoots are left.

How to prune grapes in summer from unnecessary shoots

With the onset of spring, the nutrient reserves accumulated in the previous season in the roots of the grape bush and the overwintered aerial parts are sent to the growth points, including the apical parts of the shoots and inflorescences. If the development of the shoot is extremely active, the future clusters lack nutrients, the flowers begin to crumble, and the inflorescences can turn into tendrils.

In order not to lose the harvest, the tops with not yet opened leaves are pinched, which leads to the cessation of shoot growth, and the established inflorescences develop and produce an ovary. After watching a video about pruning grapes in the summer, the intricacies of this process and the compatibility of certain “green operations” become clear to beginning gardeners. For example, the removal of young apical parts of the shoot can be combined with cutting out the stepsons or normalizing the inflorescences.

The shoot is pinched in the middle of the internode above the first inflorescence. We can also use this technique if it is necessary to regulate the growth of the bush. By pinching out the strongest shoots, you can achieve the formation of more inflorescences next year.

How to prune grapes before and during flowering?

Removing the apical parts of shoots with 5–8 upper opening leaves is called stamping a grape bush. Young shoots grow as actively as possible simultaneously with the entry of grapes into the time of flowering and ovary formation. In this case, the growing top is fed by the leaves that have already opened in the lower part.

Is it possible to prune grapes in the summer, when the plant is preparing to flower, or is the ovary already forming? Yes, shortening shoots with opening inflorescences will not only not harm the future harvest, but will also help:

• prevent buds from falling off;
• get a bountiful harvest from the shoot;
• improve the quality of ripening berries;
• prevent the development of diseases associated with overcrowding, lack of nutrition, light and air.

This technique is most in demand on vigorous-growing varieties, and on grapes with a compact crown and weak growth, where during flowering there is almost no shedding of clusters, such pruning of grapes in the summer is not performed.

Summer pruning of grape shoots

Grapes, like many other crops, are characterized by the formation of side shoots - stepsons.

Removing or shortening such growth must be carried out on young, just emerging plants, and can also be done on bushes that are already bearing fruit. At the same time, the operation is more often useful on table grape varieties, but on technical grape plantations it is almost never used.

Depending on the number of stepsons, the chosen method of formation and the strength of the plant, such pruning of grapes in July is repeated two or three more times during the season and can be combined with chasing or gartering the vine.

Pruning grapes in July

Is it possible and how to prune grapes correctly after flowering so that the resulting clusters receive more sunlight, are blown by the wind and do not lack nutrition? These are the goals pursued by thinning already formed berries, as well as removing part of the leaves during the period when the grapes begin to ripen.

Removing from 5 to 10 lower leaves on the shoots where the berries ripen allows you to:

• provide the bush with better ventilation;
• reduce the amount of shadow that interferes with the flow of the brush;
• dramatically reduce the risk of developing gray rot and other grape diseases on berries.

In the conditions of the cool short summer of the middle zone, such summer pruning of grapes can be carried out regularly, and in the southern regions, where there is more sun, thinning the foliage helps in wet years, as well as on strong plants on which ripening is delayed. To obtain the most visible result from removing leaves, simultaneously with this operation on vigorous bushes, grapes are pruned in the summer after flowering, shortening the tops of actively growing shoots.

On table varieties, where it is extremely important to obtain dense, healthy clusters with large berries, thinning of the ovary is practiced.

IN As a result of this, carried out at a stage when the berries have not yet begun to ripen, the normalization results in sparse clusters. But more often, using sharp scissors, trying not to disturb the berries, they shorten the bunch. In some cases, more than half of the set berries may be removed at this stage, which significantly increases the amount of nutrients reaching the remaining ovary.

Pruning grapes in summer after flowering

Another technique that helps to get an early, high-quality harvest is called ringing and involves removing the bark from the fruit shoot in the form of a thin ring, 1 to 3 mm thick. In this case, nutrition is redirected to the filling clusters and those parts of the shoot that are above the cut.

As a result of such pruning of grapes in the summer after flowering, as well as thanks to improved nutrition, larger grape berries can be obtained almost two weeks earlier than without the use of ringing.

However, the operation turns out to be quite painful for the plant and should not be used annually, so as not to bleed the grape bush and deplete its root system.

Video about pruning and pinching grapes

Many manuals on viticulture, some gardeners recommend plucking leaves from grapes. There are both fans and opponents of this operation; many arguments are given for and against. Let's try to figure out whether it is possible to remove leaves from grapes, for what purposes this is done and what are the contraindications for this method.

During the summer season, the grapes grow large green mass. 1-3 shoots can form from each eye; in addition, summer shoots are produced by stepsons from axillary buds. The grape bunches end up inside a huge mass of shoots and leaves. As a result, the bunches are poorly ventilated - they do not dry out for a long time after rain, and their susceptibility to fungal diseases increases. Once in the shade, the berries take longer to gain color, do not accumulate the required amount of sugars, and berries of late varieties often do not have time to ripen before the onset of autumn frosts.

To eliminate these problems, winegrowers use the following actions:

• pruning (breaking out) excess shoots;
• removal of stepsons;
• pinching the tops of shoots at the end of summer (chasing shoots);
• removing leaves around grape bunches.

When it comes to when to remove leaves, gardeners answer these questions differently. There are different times when picking grape leaves - from the moment the ovary peas until the berries begin to color. Some growers begin removing leaves around the bunches immediately after flowering.

Methods for removing leaves are also formulated in different ways: plucking the lower leaves to speed up the growth of the ovary, plucking the leaves above the clusters to improve lighting. There are gardeners who even pluck foliage when signs of disease are detected.

Meanwhile, unwise removal of leaves from grapes weakens the bushes. Leaves are a kind of photosynthesis factory that produces the necessary elements for crop production. When we pick leaves from grapes in large quantities, we deprive the bush and ripening clusters of nutrition. Thus, we reduce the yield and deteriorate its quality, and also delay the ripening of the vine before the winter cold.

So, when picking leaves from grapes, we must clearly understand the purpose for which we are doing this. Both the methods and timing of summer operations depend on this.

Why are leaves plucked?

Feasibility

The grape leaf “works” productively for no more than 70 days. After 100 days, old leaves spend much more useful substances to maintain their vital functions than they produce themselves. The lower leaves of the shoot are torn off, since they no longer support the filling of the bunch, but, on the contrary, take away the strength of the young shoots and berries.

“ Each leaf has its own time and the leaves lower from the cluster are already “retired” and do not work for the bunch. Therefore, if the general shoot allows it, I remove the lower leaves.”

G.V. Belikova

According to Galina Belikova, before the grapes bloom, the first five leaves from the base of the shoot “work” for the inflorescence. After flowering, the brush is fed with another 6-7-8 leaves. However, at the beginning of ripening of the berries, of the 14-18 leaves available on the shoot, the first four no longer work for the ripening of the bunch, and by the end of ripening only the 5-18th leaf works for the harvest. After harvesting, only the top 8 - 18 leaves are actively working.

Ventilating the bush

Air exchange inside the grape bush is a necessary condition for maintaining plant health. Thickened bushes are severely affected by mildew, oidium, gray mold and other infections. Fungal infections are especially dangerous in rainy, cloudy summers. Tearing off leaves is combined with pinching and chasing shoots. As a result, the conditions for growing bunches are improved - sunlight, ventilation. There is a saying among winegrowers: “You can’t hide in a good vineyard in the summer.”

Improved pollination

Some dessert varieties with a functionally female flower type tend to pea when there is insufficient pollination. Before flowering, some of the leaves around the clusters are removed from these varieties to improve wind pollination.

Ripening of grapes

Grape bunches gain color and sugar faster when exposed to sunlight. Some varieties simply cannot achieve the required varietal color without sufficient sunlight. Light grape varieties acquire a characteristic golden “tan” in the sun. For them, the leaves are torn off above the bunch, opening the berries to the sun's rays. Dark varieties of grapes are lightened differently: by trimming the leaves around the bunches to improve ventilation.

Late varieties of grapes (Biruintsa, Italy, Ataman and some others) also require removal of leaves to speed up ripening. Most of all, pruning leaves is needed in cool and damp autumn.

Easier harvesting

In industrial vineyards, chemical defoliation of bushes is used, since the grapes of technical varieties are harvested mechanically. For this purpose, special defoliant substances are used. Amateur gardeners do not need extra “chemicals”, so we will not consider them.

Preparing bushes for winter

In the northern viticulture regions, grape bushes are prepared for the upcoming cold weather and shelter for the winter. The purpose of the preparation is to accelerate the ripening of the vine and the redistribution of nutrients in the tissues of the shoots. To do this, from the end of August, they begin to gradually tear off the lower leaves, while simultaneously pinching the tops of the shoots. Two weeks before covering, if the foliage turns yellow, you can completely remove it.

How to properly pick grape leaves

• For more complete ripening of the berries, it is recommended to pick off the leaves 20-30 days before the grapes ripen. At this time, the bunches are already fully formed, the berries are gaining full size.
• It is better to carry out the operation with scissors or pruners. A small part of the leaf petiole is left; it subsequently falls off on its own.
• Trim 5-7 leaves located around the bunch.
• Removal of leaves is carried out in the evening or early morning hours so as not to expose the bunches to sunburn.
• To prepare the bushes for winter, the leaves begin to be removed at the end of August - September, and are completed by the time the leaves turn yellow.

How not to remove leaves

• It is not advisable to remove grape leaves in the middle of the day during lunch hours. At this time, the berries may get sunburned. Some growers recommend removing leaves gradually over several days to allow the grapes to become accustomed to the increased light.
• When picking leaves, you should not leave wounds on the vine; they serve as gateways for infection.
• Winegrowers in the southern regions present their arguments against removing leaves. Under the hot sun of Crimea and the south of Kuban, the berries are “baked,” especially the light varieties. Therefore, leaves are removed only from the bottom of the bunches. In most cases, winegrowers in the northern zone are in favor of plucking leaves, because summer in central Russia is much shorter.
• In summer, you cannot remove all the foliage from the shoot, exposing the bush! While getting carried away with the operation, do not forget that the grape leaves feed the crop and the entire bush as a whole. At least 8-13 leaves must remain above the bunch to feed it.
• Some gardeners begin removing leaves from their grapes after seeing signs of mildew or other diseases. This should not be done under any circumstances, because tearing off the foliage weakens an already diseased bush.

Having summed up all the pros and cons, each gardener decides for himself whether it is necessary to remove leaves from grapes and in what quantity. It is necessary to approach this agricultural technique with knowledge of the biology of grapes, intelligently and responsibly. The main thing that should not be forgotten is that plucking grape leaves does not make sense if other agrotechnical cultivation methods are not followed: thinning shoots, removing stepchildren, tying shoots and chasing them. But a well-groomed vineyard even aesthetically benefits from the removal of excess leaves.

Grape pruning- one of the most difficult events held at the dacha. Sometimes it's hard to figure it out how to prune grapes correctly and when.

Pruning a grape bush comes down to cutting off 90 percent of the vine, leaving the required number of eyes (buds).

Let's look at it in detail secrets of proper pruning of grapevines, starting from the first year of planting.

Pruning of grapes can be done both in spring and autumn. When pruning in the fall, it is advisable to cover the bush for the winter, protecting it from freezing. If your area has harsh winters, prune in the spring or cover the vine for the winter. By the way, unpruned grapes withstand winter better.

The base of the trunk, which is located underground, is called heel, roots grow from it.

Stamb- part of the stem up to the first lateral shoot, like all trees. In grapes, part of the stem is also underground, ending at the heel.

Head- a thickening on the main stem from which side shoots extend.

Sleeves (shoulders)- these are side shoots extending from the main stem. And the eyes on them are the same kidneys.

There are terms that need to be remembered: fruit arrow and substitution knot.

fruit arrow– a long-cut sleeve, on which 8-12 buds are left after trimming.

Substitution knot– short sleeve, after trimming there are 2-4 eyes left.

Fruit link– a pair of shoots consisting of a replacement knot and a fruit shoot. We've sorted out all the names, let's move on to the secrets of pruning grapes.

There are a huge variety of options for forming a grapevine. Let's focus on the simplest and most understandable form - shoots to grow not vertically, but horizontally.

In spring, the 2 lowest buds are left on the central shoot, the rest is cut off. Grow 2 shoots from them, and tie them up obliquely in different directions.

In late autumn, when all the leaves have fallen, this cannot be done earlier, otherwise the grapes will bleed juice, shortening the shoots. We leave one shoot short, leaving 2 buds, the second shoot is left long, leaving 4 buds. For the winter, remove the grapevine from the trellis and cover it.

In the spring, after the threat of severe frosts has passed (early April), remove the shelter and tie the vine to the bottom wire of the trellis, with the tops in different directions.

The stems growing from the buds shoot vertically upward or with a slight inclination away from the center of the bush.

In autumn, after the leaves fall, the long sleeve is cut off leaving 2 shoots. The sleeves will become the same. Then cut off the vertical stems: those that are closer to the center and lower along the main stem, cut off leaving 2 buds. This will be a substitution knot.

In the spring, after the frosts have passed, remove the cover from the grapevine. Tie long fruit arrows to the bottom wire of the trellis horizontally, with their tops in opposite directions.

Substitution knots leave to grow vertically. During the summer, stems will grow from all the buds. At the beginning of August, carry out chasing - trimming the stems by 10-20 cm. This will increase the quality and quantity of berries.

Do not chase before August, otherwise a mass of shoots will appear on the vine.

in autumn, after leaf fall, cut off the outermost 4 vertical shoots with part of the sleeve.

As a result, on each shoulder there will be one link with two vertical shoots. They should be pruned in the same way as in the second year. Cut off the shoot closest to the center, leaving 2 buds, and leaving the ones further away with 4 buds.

For all subsequent years of growth of the grape bush, pruning should be carried out in the same way as in the third year.

Attention: for greater reliability and reserve, you can leave more buds on the shoots, but no more than 10 on each. This is done in case of frost damage.

For example, the optimal number is 3 buds on replacement knots and 6-7 buds on fruit shoots. In the spring, if all the buds have survived, the excess ones can be cut off.

Video – Grapes Bush pruning

Here are the main secrets for pruning grapes in the fall, the observance of which will be the key to obtaining a high-quality and large harvest of berries.