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Vineyard

pépinière viticole (F)
vite vivaio (I)
vine nursery (GB)
vid vivero (ES)

In viticulture, a common facility or operation for the cultivation of grafts and rootstocks, analogous to a tree nursery. Often a grafting operation is also connected. An important basis for the cultivation or "enrolment" are light to medium soils rich in humus, which enable rapid rooting. A prerequisite is above all a sufficient supply of potassium (potassium salts) and magnesium. The plant must be at little risk of frost, warm and protected from the wind, and free from virus-transmitting nematodes (threadworms). Only vegetative propag ation can guarantee that the newly created vines have exactly the same genes and thus characteristics as the original vine. Generative propagation by sowing and raising grape seeds is therefore out of the question. The basis for the later vine are two components, namely the scion (upper part) and the rootstock (lower part). Both are raised separately and only become a plantable cutting through grafting, forcing and subsequent enrolment.

Scions (tops)

The scions are obtained from clones that have been observed for several years in officially recognised vineyards and tested for their positive viticultural characteristics (clone selection). The best of these with special requirements function as so-called mother vines or basic planting material after approval. From these, 80-centimetre-long one-year-old canes are cut. Pruning is carried out at the end of December to mid-January to prevent bud damage due to frost. The canes must have at least seven graftable eyes, in the case of some with long internodes, such as the varieties Blaufränkisch (Lemberger), Trollinger or Dornfelder, only five. Up to 50 scions can be obtained from one mother vine. Until further use, they are stored in cold storage rooms at 1 to 2 °Celsius, packed airtight in plastic films of 100 or 200 pieces, in order to preserve the reserve substances, especially carbohydrates, in the wood. For grafting, the rods are then cut into small pieces, each with an eye. A stub at least 1.5 centimetres long must remain above the eye, and a cone at least 5 centimetres long remains below the eye.

Unterteil (Wurzelwerk) und Oberteil (Edelreiser)

Rootstocks (lower parts)

The rootstocks, like the grape varieties, are specifically bred with certain characteristics and for certain soil types through crossbreeding, whereby American vines are always involved due to the indispensable phylloxera resistance. In a vine nursery, therefore, not only the desired grape variety with, if applicable, the desired clone type is ordered, but also the rootstock that is as optimally suited as possible for the vineyard with which it was grafted (e.g. "Riesling Klon 64 Geisenheim" with rootstock "Kober 5 BB"). The rootstocks are annuals that are produced in so-called cutting gardens. As they need warm locations with little frost risk for growth, they are mostly produced in northern Italy or southern France. They are either grown without support on the ground or by means of Greiner-Deckers diagonal stake training, resulting in 8 to 10 canes, each several metres long.

Harvesting takes place in January and February, with the canes being cut just above the head. The length must be divisible by 40, but at least 120 centimetres. The cut to the final length of 30 centimetres is then made shortly before grafting. The lower cut surface is about 1.5 to 2 centimetres below a nodium (node). The roots will later form at this cut. All eyes are cut out, which is characteristically called apertures. About 60 to 80 rootstocks can be harvested from a single vine.

Pre-grafting (preschooling) and hardening off

Immediately after grafting, the cuttings, including the grafting site, are paraffinised with hot liquid grafting wax to protect them from drying out. This wax also contains substances to inhibit botrytis and to promote callus formation. Afterwards, 500 to 600 vines are packed into plastic pre-grafting boxes, which are filled with wet sphagnum up to the grafting point. The top is filled with sand or perlite. Then, in bright, heatable rooms, usually glasshouses, the vines are pre-driven (preschooled) in the boxes, which promotes the formation of callus (wound tissue), causes the eye to sprout and the first root tips are formed.

The date depends on the subsequent enrolment, in the northern hemisphere this is usually in the last decade of April. The duration is between two and three weeks. The prerequisites are a constant temperature, high humidity and good ventilation. The young shoots should develop for as short a time as possible. They are protected against botrytis by regular spraying with quinosol (antifungal fungicide). This is followed by the hardening-off phase, during which the vines are slowly adapted to normal temperature conditions within a week.

Enrolment

Enrolment begins after the late frosts, around mid-May. The formerly common "trenching method" was replaced by the so-called "foil method" from the end of the 1970s. By means of a laying machine, a slightly curved earth embankment made of mulch is thrown up, over which a plastic film is pulled. This polyethylene film, which is about 75 centimetres wide and coloured black, thus increasing the soil heat, is covered with earth at the edges to prevent the wind from attacking it. Then the film is rolled over with a wheel spiked with thorns so that holes are punched in it every 6 to 8 centimetres. Through these holes, the cuttings are inserted about 10 centimetres deep into the soil. In contrast to the earlier digging method, no undesired rooting out of the scion takes place with the foil method. After greening, care measures such as soil loosening, leaf pruning and preventive treatment with fungicides against downy mildew and net sulphur against powdery mildew are necessary. During the official inspection in summer, the vines are checked for varietal purity as a prerequisite for recognition.

Rebschule - Stecklinge in Mulchfolien

Culling

After leaf fall in November, the vines are trained. Before this, the shoots are shortened to about 15 centimetres and the vines are dug out, whereby the roots are cut to 25 centimetres. Now all the vines are checked, especially with regard to the optimal intergrowth of scion and rootstock, by means of the manual pressure and twist test. The callus ring must not split open or form a gap in the area of the grafting point.

The vines are stored in cold storage until they are marketed and planted out in spring. According to an EU regulation issued in 1992, a "plant passport" is required for all vines marketed within the EU, indicating, among other things, the country of production, the producer, the botanical name, the noble vine variety and the rootstock variety. As an alternative to the nursery, vines are also produced as so-called potted vines. Instead of being trained outdoors, the process with the potted vines takes place in a climate-controlled environment. If the same soil is used several times, so-called vine fatigue can occur.

further information

The planned establishment of a new vineyard or vineyard with the planting of vines in compliance with all laws, observance of all criteria and the necessary measures are described in detail under vine establishment plan. All tools, work and measures in the vineyard during the vegetation cycle can be found under the keyword vineyard care. See also a complete list of all vine-specific keywords under Vine.

Upper and lower part: taken from Bauer/Regner/Schildberger, Weinbau,
ISBN: 978-3-70402284-4, Cadmos Verlag GmbH
Cuttings in mulch film: By Clemens Pfeiffer, 1190 Vienna / Clemens Pfeiffer, Vienna - Own work, Attribution, Link

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