Ken Anderson wrote:

> A good 3/4 of my 2nd year vinifera have been damaged by cane girdlers. Really
> sucks because it's an obvious setback to see a thriving cane get cut back.
> Anyone have any experience with this situation? Can I still expect these
> canes to easily reach a 54 inch wire this season, and then some? I do see
> that the node, below where I snipped off the damage, is thriving.
> Ken
>
>
Ken,

On a young vine the damage done by grape cane girdlers is alarming, but
I've never had a vine succumb. Just snap off the egg carrying portion,
down to the lowermost girdle, and burn or otherwise destroy. The vines
will pop axial buds from the next one or two node. After a few weeks,
when the danger of further girdling is past, you can remove the lower
sprouts and leave the uppermost as a leader. There's every likelihood
that you'll get to the wire.

--


Mike MTM, Cokesbury, New Jersey, USA