In article ,
MrMe wrote:

On Thu, 20 May 2010 11:44:23 -0700, Billy wrote:

In article ,
MrMe wrote:

My Niagra grape vine is doing very well this year and has put out
a decent quantity of bunches. The fruit are already 1/4 to 1/2 inch
diameter. A friend told me that I should cut all fruiting vines
immediatey after their last bunch. That I would get larger fruit. Is
there any merit in what I've been told ?

advTHANKSance

Paul



Where are you that you would be harvesting a North American grape species,
Vitis labrusca, in May?

Not harvesting yet. That'll happen end of July to early August. We live
in the Sandhills of NC. Temps started out high early on but have cooled
off a bit lately bringing much needed rains. Grapes are thriving.

Question aside, the answer is no.

The vine continues to store starches in its roots, made from
photosynthesis, to be used during the following budding season. If you
want to reduce next year's crop, cutting off the vines while they are
still in photosynthesis is an effective measure.

This vine just barely produces 5 gallons of wine. I need each and every
cluster.

If you want larger fruit, give them more water.

Will do so ...

If you want better quality, drop (cut off) a third of the clusters.


How many buds are you leaving when you prune?

I cut each cane back to two buds.

Thanks for the reply

Paul

Giving the vine more water will give larger fruit and less distinctive
wine. The flavor of the grape is in the skin. The smaller the grape, the
greater the skin to juice ratio, and the more concentrated the flavor.
If you want more juice, water your vine. If you want more varietal
flavor, dry farm it, and consider cluster thinning.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
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