Grape-pruning On The Pacific Slope

The methods of pruning and training native grapes, discussed in the

last two chapters, do not apply to the Vinifera grapes grown in the

favored valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific slope. As we

have already seen, the Vinifera or Old World grape differs markedly in

habits of growth from the American species so that it would not be

expected that pruning which applies to the one would apply to the

other types The fundamentals, to be sure, are much the same and the

different species of grapes are about equally subservient to the

shears of the pruner, but while pruning to regulate fruit-bearing

finds many similarities in Old and New World grapes, the training of

the vines is radically different.



European practices in pruning and training Vinifera grapes are so many

and so diverse that the first growers of this fruit in America were at

a loss to know how to prune their vines. But, out of a half century of

experience, American growers of Old World grapes have adapted from

European practices and have devised to meet new conditions, methods

which serve very well in the new home for this old grape. Since the

culture of the Old World grape is centered in California, almost

confined to that state, California practice may be taken as a pattern

in pruning and training the vines of this species.