When do Shine Muscat grapes ripen, and how are they grown?
Shine Muscat grape has ‘Hakunan’ parentage; although it is a European-American hybrid, it has typical Eurasian species characteristics. The berries of this cultivar are tightly clustered, oval-shaped, yellow-green, with a glossy surface and little bloom. The flesh is crisp and juicy, with a rose aroma, and soluble solids around 20%, reaching up to 26%; the fresh-eating quality is extremely good, and it can become one of the replacement and promotion cultivars for the grape industry.When do Shine Muscat grapes ripen? What are the planting methods?
I. When do Shine Muscat grapes ripen?
Shine Muscat grape enters the initial flowering stage in early May, full bloom in early to mid-May, the first young fruit enlargement begins in early June, the fruit begins to change color in mid-July, and ripening begins in early August. Compared with Kyoho, this cultivar is easier to cultivate and has a long fruiting period; after ripening, the fruit can remain on the vine for as long as 2~3 months.
II. Shine Muscat grape planting methods
1. Orchard establishment and planting
Before planting, do a good job of purchasing seedlings and selecting a site. Grape seedlings are divided into grafted seedlings and own-rooted seedlings; for the Shine Muscat cultivar, it is best to plant own-rooted seedlings or grafted seedlings on Summer Black rootstock. Choose first-grade seedlings with high cane maturity, well-developed roots, no pests or diseases, and a thickness of 0.4 or more. If planting in spring, do a good job of winter storage of the grape seedlings. Dig a trench about 50 cm deep, place whole bundles of grapes upright in the trench, fill in as much soil as possible between the roots; if the soil is relatively dry, water the roots a little, and after placing one row of grape seedlings, cover them completely with soil before placing the next row of grape seedlings; cover all grape seedlings with soil, and when severe cold and lower temperatures arrive, cover with soil again. The orchard site should be chosen in a place with convenient drainage and fertile soil. After selecting the grape seedlings and orchard site, the grape seedlings can be planted. Before planting, first mark out the planting belts; the planting trench is 60 cm wide and 60 cm deep. Apply 5000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, add 100 kg of superphosphate, mix evenly with soil, and backfill; after watering to settle, level it into soil ridges about 20 cm above the ground.
2. Training and pruning
Taking the double-cross “V” trellis as an example to discuss the training and pruning of Shine Muscat grape seedlings. In the first year after planting, select two strong new shoots to train as trunks, and remove all the rest; when the new shoots left as trunks grow to 70 cm, pinch the tips at 65 cm. Each trunk then trains 2 secondary shoots as main canes, tie them to the wire of the first crossbeam, and make them grow horizontally to the left and right; the secondary shoots sprouting on the main canes are repeatedly pinched, leaving 4 leaves each time. During winter pruning, cut back at the junction where the horizontal main cane meets another plant; main-cane secondary shoots with a diameter greater than 0.5 cm are cut back leaving 2-4 buds as fruiting mother shoots; those less than 0.5 cm are removed. After budbreak in the second year, when new shoots grow to more than 50 cm, tie them to the wire of the second crossbeam, with a spacing of 15~20 cm between new shoots. After the second year, leave 1 shoot at intervals of about 15 cm on each main cane, 4 in total, of which 3 serve as fruiting mother shoots and the 1 near the trunk serves as a renewal shoot. During winter pruning, most shoots are pruned leaving 2-4 buds, and renewal shoots are pruned leaving 1-2 buds.
3. Flower and fruit management
Timely pinching: after budbreak in spring, remove excess double buds, multiple-head buds, and overly weak buds in stages. Fruiting new shoots are pinched leaving 7 leaves 2~3 days before flowering; secondary shoots below the inflorescence are pinched leaving 1 leaf; secondary shoots above the inflorescence are repeatedly pinched leaving 2 leaves. Vegetative shoots are pinched leaving 10 leaves, and the extended leader of secondary shoots is pinched leaving 3-5 leaves. Cluster shaping: tidy the flower clusters 1 week before flowering to control cluster length, generally retaining 5 cm of the cluster tip, so that when the cluster develops it is conical. Remove weak clusters, deformed clusters, and pest- or disease-damaged clusters. Generally, strong vigorous new shoots retain 2 clusters, moderate new shoots retain 1 cluster, and weak shoots retain no cluster, or two or three new shoots retain 1 cluster.
Chemical treatment: through two gibberellin treatments, this not only greatly increases the fruit-setting rate and makes the berries larger, but also can achieve seedless berries. The first time is at the end of full bloom, dipping the entire inflorescence in 30-50 mg/kg gibberellin for 1-3 seconds; the second time is 10 days later, dipping the young cluster in 30-50 mg/kg gibberellin for 2-3 seconds.
Scientific fruit thinning: begin fruit thinning when the berries grow to the size of soybean grains, removing densely set, small and weak, and deformed berries, retaining 60-70 berries per cluster; this can make the cluster shape more attractive. After fruit thinning, spray the whole vineyard once with a fungicide such as thiophanate-methyl, chlorothalonil, or azoxystrobin. After the chemical dries, bag the clusters promptly. Use sharp scissors as fruit-thinning tools, and be careful when trimming so as not to damage the retained berries or the cluster rachis. At the same time, also consider the load of the vine and control the yield; only in this way can the quality of the berries be improved.
4. Fertilizer and water management
In the first year at planting, mainly use quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, combined with organic fertilizer, to promote vegetative growth. From the second year, fertilize 5 times throughout the year. The 1st time is before budbreak, apply nitrogen fertilizer, generally 10-15 kg per mu, to provide sufficient nitrogen for plant growth, so as to promote uniform budbreak and robust canes; the 2nd time is around the flowering stage, topdress with phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, generally 15 kg per mu, to provide sufficient nutrients at the flowering stage, promote new shoot growth, and increase the fruit-setting rate; the 3rd time is at the fruit enlargement stage, topdress with potassium fertilizer, generally 30 kg of potassium sulfate per mu, to promote fruit development. The 4th time is at the fruit color-change stage, apply potassium fertilizer; when the fruit enters the color-change stage, apply potassium fertilizer to promote fruit coloring and enter the ripening stage as early as possible. The 5th time is base fertilizer application; generally from after fruit harvest to before the end of October, apply organic fertilizer and green manure; this is exactly the second growth period of the roots, promoting new root growth, strengthening the vine, and improving the disease resistance and cold resistance of the plant. Each time, water thoroughly in combination with fertilization; from the berry color-change stage to the ripening stage, control irrigation and maintain moderate drought. At the same time, according to the growth situation, apply necessary foliar fertilizer in combination with pest and disease control; spray 0.2% borax once before flowering, and from the flowering stage to the ripening stage, spray monopotassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, etc. once every half month.
5. Pest and disease control
Shine Muscat grape plants occasionally suffer from rachis brown blight; this disease mainly harms flower buds, young rachises, or young fruit, causing shrinkage and drying, flower and fruit drop, not only seriously affecting berry quality but also causing serious yield reduction. Therefore, prevention and treatment should be strengthened. After winter pruning, clean the whole orchard. After winter pruning, take diseased fruit, diseased canes, and diseased leaves out of the orchard and destroy them centrally to kill overwintering sources of inoculum. In spring, spray the whole orchard with lime sulfur. Before the grape plants emerge from the soil and budbreak in spring, spray the whole orchard once with 3-5 degrees Baume lime sulfur. Apply more organic fertilizer and phosphate and potassium fertilizers, control the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used, strengthen the vine vigor, and improve the disease resistance of the plants.