VINES UNDER GLASS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20656, 30 August 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

VINES UNDER GLASS.

SEASONABLE OPERATIONS. All seasonable work connected with late cool house vines, such as cleaning, dressing and painting tho vines, a3 well as thoroughly cleaning tho whole of tho woodwork, trellises, floor—in fact, every portion where insect pests may liavo sheltered during tho winter—should by this time have been completed. Even the latest varieties will bo no longer dormant, and as the temperature _ increases, will soon bo breaking into active growth. From this time onward special attention must be given to theso requirements. There are but few, if any, fruiting plants that require more persistant caro from the time they are started into growth until tho maturing of the fruit than the grape, and certainly few that suffer moro quickly from neglect. When the vines are starting into growth one of the most important things is to endeavour to secure as strong and as even break as possible, and this can be best attained by allowing the vines to start without be'ing in any way unduly forced. This is of the greatest importance, as weak, sterile growth is often tho result of

too high a temperature being maintained at the time the vines are starting into growth. The main object should bo first to secure strong, short-pointed lateral growth. After this is secured and the bunches show, they may bo pushed on more rapidly if required without much risk of injuring the vines. REGULATION OF TEMPERATURE. The temporature should be kept as low and as even as possible when starting and during their earlier stages of growth. It is, of course, practically impossible to maintain an exactly even temperature, as the nights may be very cold while during the day it may be bright, sunny weather, but every effort should be made to regulate the temperature as well as possible. This, in a great measure, may bo accomplished by giving free ventilation during the hottest part of the day, and by closing the ventilators an hour before the sun leaves the house. Moisture, too, is an important factor in assisting to securo a strong, even break. TYING UP THE CANES. The canes should in no case be permenently tied up to the trellis until all the buds have started, as it frequently happens that the buds upon the upper part of the cane start, while thoso in the lower portion remain inactive. When this occurs the best method is to bend the canes back with the object of checking the upward flow of the sap and so induce the lower buds to start. As soon as all the buds have started the rods should be carefully tied to tno trellis. In almost every case, however, it is advisable to allow the rods to hang about three inches at least below the trellis. By this moans the laterals are more easily and safely secured to the trellis with far less risk of their being broken than when the laterals have to be bent downward to be

tied. The tying naturally has to bo very carefully performed, as the young shoots are very brittle and easily broken at this stage of their growth. Tlio next important operation is disbudding. This should be dono as soon as sufficient lateral growth has been mado to enable tho strongest and most promising bunches to be selected. Remove all other shoots that start out around tho base of the spurs and that are not required for furnishing tho trellis with foliago. Disbudding and stopping will require to bo dono almost daily, so that little growth will be removed from the vines at ono

time. This is important, for apart from tho advantage of always being able to keep tho work well in hand, by this means, there will bo little or no risk of the vines being checked by too much loss of sap, as is often tho case whon a lot of growth is rttooved from the vinos at or>o tine.