How to Grow Grapes: A Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Spraying Methods

Grapes, also known as putao, caolongzhu, cizi cherry, putizi, and shanhulu, are cultivated all over the world, with a flowering period from April to May and a fruiting period from August to September. So how do you grow them? When do you plant them? What pesticide do you need to spray? According to Uncle Gao, a grape grower in Hunan, cuttings are usually taken from January to February, and seedlings are transplanted from March to April. Transplanting grapevines has the highest survival rate; in regions that do not need to bury soil for winter protection, transplanting grapevines about 10 days after leaf fall in autumn also gives a very high survival rate.

How do you grow grapes?

Trellis style. Grapes are perennial trailing fruit trees and need a trellis to maintain a certain space and fruit shape and to obtain a higher yield. The trellis must be set up in the first year; they cannot be allowed to crawl along the ground.

1. Hedge trellis: the trellis surface is perpendicular to the ground, shaped like a hedge wall. At present, the single-wall hedge trellis is mostly used, with a trellis height of more than 2 m, a post set every 4—5 m, and wood, stone or concrete posts all being acceptable, with a 12—14 gauge galvanized wire stretched every 40 cm on it.

2. Large shed trellis: row spacing of more than 6 m, spacing between horizontal and vertical posts of about 2 m; horizontally there are generally 4—5 rows of posts, the first row about 1 m from the grape plants and 60—70 cm high, the second row 1.5 m high, the third row 2.3 m high, so that the tops of rows 1—3 are in a straight line, and the fourth, fifth and sixth rows 2.5—2.7 m high, basically level or gradually higher.

Small shed trellis: row spacing within 6 m, built in the same way as the large shed trellis.

3. Horizontal large shed trellis: suitable for courtyard cultivation. Planting grapes in the yard can increase income and green and beautify the environment, achieving two goals at once. A large shed trellis is generally used, occupying more overhead space and less ground space, and even the space above the roof can be used.

4. Cutting propagation

Cutting without root forcing (open-field cutting seedling raising): in spring, after taking the stored branches out of the trench, first soak them indoors in clean water for 6-8 hours, then cut them. Generally, the branches are cut into cuttings with 2-3 buds each. The cuttings are generally about 20 cm long; for varieties with long internodes, only 1-2 buds are left on each cutting. When cutting the cuttings, make a flat cut at the upper end 1 cm above the bud, and a slanted cut at the lower end below the bud, with the cut surface shaped like a “horse ear” (roots form easily when the cut is close to the bud eye). The bud eye at the upper part of the cutting should be plump and full; if the first bud eye is damaged after cutting, the second bud eye can sprout, which helps improve the cutting survival rate.

5. Layering propagation

The layering method is a propagation method in which a certain part of a large tree is made to root and then separated from the mother plant. Horizontal layering can use surplus 1-2 year old branches, or current-year new shoots or secondary shoots for layering and seedling raising.

Wave layering is similar to the layering method for 1-year-old mature root tiller branches, except that the layer is bent up and down in a wave shape in the trench, and at the downward bend it is fixed into the bottom of the trench with a wooden fork or iron hook and pressed firm to promote rooting.

For middle layering, before budding in late spring, take a 1-2 year old branch and wrap the branch base at the fork with a plastic bag filled with soil; a coarse bamboo tube, small flower pot, etc. can also be used, filled with nutrient soil, and the branch is inserted, fixed and watered to root. Generally after July-August, at the lower part of the flower pot, the base of the wrapped branch is gradually cut through to separate it from the mother body and become an independent plant.

6. Grafting propagation

The green branch cleft grafting method is currently the main grafting method for grape seedling raising. In northern areas such as Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, grafting can be done from mid-May to mid-June, with a grafting period as long as 1 month; in southern Liaoning and southern Shandong and Hebei provinces, grafting can be done for more than two months, and if combined with protected cultivation, the grafting period is even longer.

Grafting method: mainly cleft grafting. First select semi-lignified green branch scions; for the bud eye, it is best to use the summer bud that has just sprouted but not yet leafed out, as the survival rate after grafting is high and growth is fast. If the summer bud has already grown 3-4 leaves, remove the secondary shoot and use the winter bud. Winter buds sprout slowly, but after sprouting they grow fast and robustly. When the rootstock and scion branches are consistent in thickness and maturity, the survival rate is high.

What pesticide do you need to spray to grow grapes?

1. Grape anthracnose

Control measures: (1) Thoroughly remove diseased clusters, diseased vines and diseased leaves, etc., to reduce the source of inoculum. In areas south of the Yangtze River, bagging can be done immediately after flower drop. (2) Strengthen cultivation management, promptly prune, tie vines and pinch tips so that the trellis surface is well ventilated. Increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and control the amount of nitrogen fertilizer. (3) At the bud swelling stage, spray once with 0.3% sodium pentachlorophenate plus 4 degrees lime sulfur mixture, or 150 times thiram, or 100 times Tuzet as an eradicant. (4) In the south from late April and in the north from late May, carry out pesticide spraying for control, and thereafter generally spray once every 10-15 days; you can spray 80% anthracnose thiram 700-800 times solution, 50% chlorothalonil 600-700 times solution, 50% Tuzet or mancozeb 800 times solution. In the south, where there is a lot of rain, add “6501” 1500 times or 0.03%-0.05% hide glue and other adhesives to the solution.

2. Grape white rot

Control measures: (1) Thoroughly remove diseased branches and vines, diseased clusters and diseased leaves. (2) Prune in time, raise the fruiting position, weed in time, and pay attention to drainage. For excessively vigorous plants, strictly prohibit the application of nitrogen fertilizer before flowering. (3) In the north, after the grapes are unearthed, spray 5 degrees lime sulfur mixture or 100 times chlorothalonil; starting from the young fruit stage (early June), spray once about every 15 days for preventive control until harvest. In the south, grasp the control work at the inflorescence separation stage (late April to early May), 7 days after flower drop, and half a month before ripening; the main chemicals are half-strength, equal-strength or double-strength Bordeaux mixture, 75% chlorothalonil 800 times solution, 50% carbendazim wettable powder 700 times solution, 70% thiophanate 700 times solution or 50% Tuzet 800 times solution. (4) Develop disease-resistant varieties. White rot is relatively mild on Kyoho grapes. In the south, develop varieties with a ripening period earlier than Kyoho as much as possible, or avoid the peak period of white rot through forcing cultivation.

Grape black pox

Control methods: (1) In combination with summer pruning or throughout the entire growing season, thoroughly cut off diseased shoots and remove diseased fruits and diseased leaves; after autumn pruning, thoroughly clean up dead branches and fallen leaves, burn them in a concentrated manner and then bury them deeply, so as to reduce the source of inoculum to the greatest extent. (2) Reasonably increase the application of potassium fertilizer to prevent excessive vegetative growth, strengthen tree vigor and improve disease resistance; the trellis surface should be reasonable and maintain good ventilation and light conditions. (3) In spring, before the plants are unearthed and sprout, spray 200 times sodium pentachlorophenate solution, or 3-5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture; during the growing period, spray once before flowering and once after flowering with 1:0.5:200-240 Bordeaux mixture; other chemicals include 75% chlorothalonil 500 times solution, or 50% carbendazim 1000 times solution.