Grape

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Grapes (Latin Vitis) - fruit crop; a genus of perennial lianas of the Grape family. Various types of grapes come from the Mediterranean, North America, Western Europe and Asia. Currently, grapes are a very valuable crop; they are used in the food industry, including winemaking.

Characteristics of culture

Grapes are a perennial vine with elongated, well-developed shoots, which, with the onset of autumn, stop growing to the lower bud. The next year, new powerful shoots are formed from this bud, which, in turn, bring shortened ones. Young shoots are green, ripe ones are yellowish-brown. Only long shoots bloom and bear fruit. Leaves are medium or large, five-lobed, deeply dissected, usually round.

The flowers are small, collected in paniculate or compound racemose inflorescences. Flowers can be bisexual, female, male. Flowers of the first type are typical of most existing cultivars grown for food purposes. Fruits are ovoid or spherical berries, collected in loose or dense clusters of cylindrical or cylindrical conical shape. The color of the fruit can be very diverse depending on the variety - yellow, green, dark blue, purple, burgundy, black, etc. The flesh of the fruit is usually fleshy, sweet or sour, sometimes with tart notes.

Growing conditions

The grape is light-requiring, but it can also grow in shaded areas in regions with a tropical climate. Grapes grown in dense shade often shed their leaves, and the shoots do not ripen and freeze slightly with the onset of persistent cold weather.

The temperature regime also plays an important role in growing crops, for example, in regions with a temperate climate, early ripening varieties are grown, because varieties with a long growing season do not have time to ripen. The temperature threshold for most species is 10C. The optimum temperature for active growth and development for late-ripening varieties is 30C, for mid-ripening - 28C, for early-ripening - 25-26C. These indicators must be taken into account when choosing a variety for cultivation on a personal garden plot.

Since some of the roots of grapes are able to penetrate to a considerable depth, the requirements for soil conditions apply not only to the arable layers, but also to the sub-arable ones. All types of grapes have their own requirements for the composition of the soil, but most prefer light, well-heated, drained and rich in minerals soils.

Reproduction and planting

Grapes are easy to propagate by cuttings and layering, so there is no need to purchase expensive seedlings. There are other ways to get new plants, for example, by sowing seeds. But this method is used only by breeders and is intended for breeding new varieties. Propagated by grapes and grafting, this procedure is subject only to experienced gardeners.

Reproduction by short cuttings is carried out in the fall. Cuttings containing 1-2 eyes are cut from healthy shoots. Within 24 hours they are soaked in warm water, then dried and planted in pots with a diameter of 10 cm, filled with a moisture-retaining substrate. The substrate is composed of low-lying peat, fertile soil and coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 1; or from sphagnum peat and sawdust (1: 1); or from sawdust, coarse sand and humus (3: 1: 1). Also, before planting, the cuttings can be treated with growth stimulants, this will speed up the rooting process. Important: when planting the cuttings in the substrate, its upper peephole should be located at the level of the substrate. A plastic wrap is stretched over the pots, but it should not come into contact with the handle. Rooting occurs on the 20-30th day, however, subject to regular watering and systematic ventilation. Young plants are planted in the open ground next spring, by which time the shoots have formed a well-developed root system and a shoot 30-40 cm long.

Propagation of grapes by layering is a rather laborious method, but quite feasible. On bushes intended for reproduction, the shoots are cut so that 2-3 eyes are preserved on each. The shoots formed from them (25-30 cm long) are hilled to a height of 5-8 cm. For hilling, you should use a soil mixture consisting of fertile soil and coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 1. When the shoots reach a length of 50-60 cm, they are piled up to a height of 25-30 cm. In the future, shoots are minted, which consists in removing the tops to stop their growth, such an agrotechnical technique allows you to improve fruit formation. In the fall, the shoots are separated from the mother plant with a pruner and stored. The seedlings are planted in the ground next spring.

Care

In the spring (usually in April), the grapes are freed from the winter shelter, and the bunches are tied to the trellis in an inclined or vertical position, while the fruit shoots are placed on the lower trellis. When a white bloom appears from dampness, you should not be afraid, it will disappear over time. Also, after opening the grapes are treated with the drug "Nitrafen" (at the rate of 200 g per 10 liters of water). Such a procedure will prevent the further existence of fungi and viruses identified in the last season. To obtain a good harvest at the end of April, sanitary and thinning pruning is carried out, along with which root shoots and excess buds are removed. Top dressing is carried out in early May, experienced gardeners advise using complex liquid fertilizers. During flowering, excess ovaries will be removed, this is necessary in order not to subsequently overload the bush.

With the onset of summer, periodic pinching of the vine is carried out, the removal of stepchildren and leaves that prevent the sun's rays from reaching the forming bunches of berries. In July, the grapes are fed with mullein solution, superphosphate, nitrophosphate and wood ash. It is also important to loosen the near-stem zone in a timely manner, conduct watering, remove weeds and spray the plants with antifungal and antiviral drugs. In autumn, after harvesting, the plants are fed, treated against pests and diseases, old and damaged shoots are removed, bent to the ground and covered with spruce branches.