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RECENT ARTICLES | WYNBOER HOME
WYNBOER GUIDELINES
FOR DECEMBER 2001
1 PLANNING
Short term
Visit your nursery and inspect the vines that have been grafted for you to ensure that they are true to type, vigorous and disease free.
Plan irrigation schedule of various blocks.
Make the necessary arrangements and book contractor for soil that must be prepared. Sensible irrigation will help create the correct soil moisture conditions.
Visit KWV mother blocks for viewing of cultivars with which you are not familiar, but intend planting.
Take note of the withholding periods and follow IPW guidelines with regard to disease and pest control.
Long term
Plan the cultivars you intend planting next June in conjunction with your cellar manager and/or viticultural consultant.
Financial
Contact VinPro (SA) agricultural economists for information about:
- Purchase of land or farm evaluation
- Feasibility studies and breakeven analyses
- Establishment planning and cost
- Budgets and cash flow statements
Make provision for increased labour requirement and labour cost during the harvesting season, as well as the payment of bonuses to the permanent labour force. Compare the actual cash flow with the budgeted figure and make adjustments if necessary.
2 VINEYARD PROGRAMME
Irrigation
In December and January the vine reaches its maximum water consumption due to high day temperatures, large leaf surface and rapid berry growth. However, at this time moisture stress does not have a crucial influence on crop size. Depending on the water retention capacity of the soil, the root distribution and vigour of the vine, irrigation scheduling should be applied with caution to ensure the ideal vine foliage for quality production. Consult your viticultural consultant to draw up scheduling guidelines for each vineyard block.
Where water is limited, irrigation before the véraison stage is of the utmost importance. In areas limited to supplementary irrigation only, a second irrigation can now be given. In intensive irrigation areas the irrigation demand will also be much bigger.
Monitor soil water conditions using tensio and neutron moisture meters or by digging a profile pit.
Schedule according to the soil section of the block with the lowest water retention capacity.
Disease and pest control
By the middle of the month oidium infections should begin to taper off provided thorough preventative measures were taken. If symptoms persist, the necessary control measures should be taken.
Downy mildew may pose a threat where rainshowers exceeding 10 mm are regular occurrences between Christmas and New Year, and will require immediate action. Carefully monitor conditions for downy mildew, especially in the Breede River valley.
Where a preventative programme of chemical control against grey rot was initiated in November, further spraying is necessary before the bunch begins to close. Suckering and breaking out of leaves should not be neglected if rot is a problem.
Control snout beetles with recognised pesticides where isolated damage occurs.
Mealybug infestations should be monitored to determine the effectiveness of the aforegoing treatments.
Green shoot development
Vigorous vines may be developed entirely on the cordon wire. Study the VinPro (SA) Consultation Services publication "Guide for establishing a vineyard" as well as the video entitled "Groenlootontwikkeling".
The cordon shoots of second foliage vines should be allowed to grow 30 cm past the desired length before being topped.
The longest laterals of third foliage vines must be topped. Remove bunches from poorly growing shoots.
Sucker excessive shoots on fourth growth vines, leaving one shoot with two bunches per bud. Where wind damage occurs, two shoots with one bunch each per bud is retained.
Crop control
For long term quality cultivation, it is essential to pay the necessary attention to crop control in all vines, but young vines in particular. Study the video entitled "Oesbeheer" which may be obtained from your nearest VinPro (SA) Consultation Services.
Canopy management
If required, tip/top shoots as soon as they have grown more than 40 - 50 cm since the previous topping. Shoots or laterals growing more than 45 cm along the row must also be tipped.
Breaking out of leaves if foliage is dense and botrytis poses a problem, should be done with caution. Remove one third of the leaves above the bunch zone evenly, up to the halfway mark of the foliage. Beware of sunburn on the bunches.
A more detailed version may be ordered from Mrs Gerda Kriel at 021-8073027.
Compiled by: VinPro (SA) Consultation Services
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