Stamping grapes - the way to juicy bunches and strong shoots

The middle of summer is the time of "change of fate" for grapes. Its watering is limited and deprived of nitrogen fertilizers, replacing them with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. For about a month the winegrower looks to see if he managed to reorient the bush so that berries and shoots ripen on him. If not, and the tops of the shoots straightened, indicating a slowdown in growth, in August, he plans a responsible operation, called "chasing the grapes." Actually, if it is a question of the central strip of Russia, it is held in the third or fourth week of August, and if the Russian south - in early September.
When minting, the upper part of the green shoots of the grapes is removed, on which grows 5-8 undeveloped leaves. By this time, the top of the integral part of the plant turns into a real parasite, because it consumes more nutrients than it produces. After minting, they are redirected by the plant to the grape clusters and internodes - and the berries are better ripening, and the shoots grow healthy. And it is the grape tops in August that are often densely affected by mildew, so chasing green shoots of grapes is also a healing operation: less diseased leaves, worse conditions for the development of the disease.

It should be noted that although in some cases the grapes can perfectly bear fruit and without chasing, it is necessary to conduct it on irrigated vineyards in order to achieve greater sugar content of berries and better maturing of annual shoots. Also, their resistance to cold and yield increases, since the development of fruit buds is completely complete, and the bush as a whole has the necessary supply of nutrients.
The embossing should be differentiated depending on the grape varieties and their regionalization. It is desirable for each variety to determine which leaf surface is best left after minting. Although this is not always done and not everywhere. For example, in the famous for its vineyards in Bulgaria, this operation is practiced in all varieties and almost in all vineyard areas.

Stamping grapes involves removing only the "braking" tip of the shoot. In this case, over a bunch should not remain less than 10-12 leaves, otherwise it runs the risk of remaining without sugar. For the same reason, it is worth noting the minting of weak- and medium-sown varieties in order to avoid a depressing effect on plants.

And certainly one should not mint a bush in the midst of its growth in the hope of early casting all the forces on the ripening of the clusters. Instead, powerful young stepchildren are being kicked up, as if it were not July in the street, but blessed May days. The owner will remain with sour cream instead of harvest and may even lose the vine during wintering. It's not much better than the belated stamping of grapes shoots, when two-meter vines have already harvested. It seems that there is no harm, but it's also a zero good.

But if the variety is too tall, it is worth trying such a method as repeated chasing of grapes. The first time it is carried out before flowering, and on each shoot after it should not be less than 13 leaves. As the stepson of the two upper buds grow 5-6 cm, a new embossing is carried out, but this time it should be 3-4 cm higher than the previous one. Thus, 3-4 coinage is collected during the vegetative period. Their result should be the same as for a single, and the yield increases by 25-30%.

Stamping the grapes produces waste, which is a juicy green mass. This is a very valuable livestock feed that can be used for silage. One hectare of vineyards can yield several tons of green mass.