shbailey wrote:

> On Jun 19, 4:36*am, michael
> > wrote:
>> 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 is a link to a new article on pruning by
> Lon Rombough, one of the foremost grape experts
> in the U.S. not associated with a university
> program. He recommends caution in growing
> season pruning.
>
> http://www.bunchgrapes.com/pruning_grapes.html

I wonder if the author has experience growing
vines in climates that have excessive moisture.
We can not control moisture in my region of the
country and we use little or no fertilizer except
if trace elements are missing or very low.

If hedging is not done, canes will grow to at
least 20 feet in length. Studies have shown that
this will produce very poor quality wine.

I agree that hedging should be timed so that the
new leaves and laterals are contributing to the
ripening of the fruit. I do not hedge after the
first of August. At this time the vines are
putting energy into ripening the fruit.

Leaf pulling in the fruit zone is necessary in my
area (Mid Atlantic) to allow air circulation and
allow spray to reach clusters. Also a dense
canopy offers a very hospitable hosts for fungi
and also areas where spray can not reach. If you
have yellow leaves in the interior of your
canopy, then the probably reason is that they
simply are not receiving enough sun.

It should be noted that the leaves in the fruiting
zone are not providing much in the way of
carbohydrates to the vine by mid summer. 60 to
90 days after opening they are in old age and not
contributing to anything except restriction of
air flow and spray.

Where I live, the viticulturists runs research
farms that actually grow grapes so their work is
NOT strictly academic but tested by field trials
and experience.

There has been and continues to be a difference of
opinion on controlling vigor. At one time Dr.
Richard Smart promoted the idea of controlling
vigor by having greater vine spacing and longer
cordons. This was tried and the result was very
long cordons with very high vigor and excessive
growth - in short - it did not work.

It should be noted that what works for one in a
certain area may not work for others in a
different area or there may be differences
between varieties in a given area.

The best advice is to experiment and see what
works best for you.