Pavel314 wrote:

>
> "michael" > wrote
> in message
>
...
>>I am fairly new to growing my own vines in
>>England,and am looking for
>> a site to find out some of the details of
>> pruning the vines during the summers growth.In
>> paticular I wish to know how to deal with over
>> vigorous growth,and whether to remove side
>> shoots or laterals during the summers rapid
>> growth.Cheers michael
>
>
> Here are a few good sites:
>
> http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/e-1935.htm
>
> http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1429.html
>
> I googled "pruning grape vines" and got 159,000
> hits.
>
>
> Paul

I think the OP was asking about "summer" pruning.
The references you provided are good but do not
address the issue of vigorous growth and what to
do about it during the summer - unless I missed
something - which is entirely possible in my
chronologically advantaged state.

We have a similar problem (excessive growth) here
in the Mid Atlantic. This year has seen
incredible growth because of the wet spring.

My advice for "summer" pruning is to:

Hedge the vines so the shoots are about 4 feet
long

Keep the shoots positioned vertically and not
allow to cross over each other

Leaf pull in the fruit zone - especially on the
eastern side.

Leaf pull throughout the canopy until you can "see
through it". This does not mean denuding the
vines but merely to the point where you can tell
if there is someone standing on the other side of
the vine from you - NOT to the point you can
identify them :-). This will allow air
circulation which is needed in areas of excessive
vigor.

All this information came from the Maryland Grape
Growers Association (MGGA) summer field education
program at a local vineyard and winery and was
presented by several viticulturalist from
Maryland and out of state.

One additonal thing worth mentioning for vigorous
growth areas:

Consider cane pruning instead of cordon spur
pruning. Cane pruning greatly diminishes "old"
wood. The only "old" wood is the trunk(s). Old
wood provides a home for fungi. Vineyards around
here that have gone to cane pruning have
experienced a lot less problem with fungus. It
is also a LOT easier to maintain the vines since
you do not have a lot of shoots from old wood
(which are non-productive) to prune away. I have
gone to cane pruning this year and I am very
pleased with the results.

There has always been a lot of controversy about
vine and row spacing but some of the new
plantings around here are going to 4 feet between
vines and 7 foot row spacing. They are aiming
for 12 buds per vine. This will typically work
out to a yield of about 3 tons per acre or a
little more depending on variety. This is a good
crop load around here for producing quality
wines.

the other Paul