Commercial Grower

   Like most fruit crops, grapes prefer well-drained loam-sandy loam soil but do well on a wide range of soil types, from clay to sand.  The most important thing is to have good water drainage. If the soil area that you have selected does not have adequate soil drainage then steps must be taken to allow water to drain.  Ditching or tilling are both good methods to provide adequate drainage.  Selecting a soil that has a large amount of organic matter is preferred as it provides nutrients to the grapes and a good soil structure.  Performing soil tests of the proposed site is a good idea to find out what nutrients are found in the soil.  A good soil test that includes all the macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and sulphur, as well includes the micronutrients such as magnesium, boron and so on.  It is suggested that the year before you plant your orchard, to planting a crop that will be worked back into the soil to increase the amount of organic matter.  Along with good soil another characteristic that makes a good site is, good air drainage so cold air drains out and away from the orchard preventing cold air staying in the orchard.

    Spring planting is recommended in colder areas such as Saskatchewan.  Most grape vines are usually sold bard rooted, so planting as soon as possible is a must to prevent roots from drying out.  If the roots spear dried out soak the vine in water for 2-3 hours before planting.  To plant, dig a hole that is deep enough to accommodate the whole root system, place the vine in the hole and replace the topsoil over the roots. Do not put fertilizer directly into the planting hole.  Tamp the soil firmly around the newly planted vine.

  Spacing of the grape vines should be 2 to 3 metres apart from each other to allow the vines to be laid down and buried for the winter.  A row spacing of about 2.5m is recommended.  Row length is mainly determined by the amount of space that is available.  The trellis wires should be 0.75m, 1.25m and 1.75m from the ground.  This method of trellis keeps the trunk close to the ground making it easy to lay down for covering over the winter.  Most of the time in colder areas such as Saskatchewan multiple trunks are allowed to grow so if one is injured another is ready to take its place.  Many different trellis variations exist all with one common goal to distribute the foliage in the sunlight.

   Irrigation of grapes helps to maximize productivity by eliminating water shortage stress at critical periods of the season such as spring growth. A dry spring can delay spring growth which can delay bud break and therefore reduce fruit set. Most of the peak water demands occur during the period of rapid shoot growth, but over irrigation will produce excess vigour that may delay maturation.  Water is needed throughout the process except in the fall.  Watering in the fall may delay dormancy and increase the chance of winter damage.

    Fertilizing grapes can be done at the same time as irrigating through fertigation.  A weak fertilizer solution can be applied at the time of irrigation but is not required.  Most of the soils in Saskatchewan have sufficient nutrient qualities to support the grape vines.
*Note, too much Nitrogen can delay fruit set and increase vegetative growth.

   In Saskatchewan protection from the wind is very important.  Although the vines are trellised, protection from the wind in both summer and winter increase the productivity of the vines because they require less resources to be used up to strengthen the vine.  Windbreaks can consist of trees or even a fence. A snow fence can even act as a temporary shelterbelt until the trees grow up.  A space around the outside of the rows to the shelterbelt should be maintained to order to prevent shading of the vines.  Contact the PFRA for a selection of trees that would best suit your needs. http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/shelterbelt.htm

   Most of the Grape cultivars are self-pollinating and do not require insects to pollinated them.

 To determine if the grapes are ready to be harvest depends on the cultivar that is beening grown.  Some cultivars can be determined that they are ready by colour, other cultivars use the sugar content of the grapes.  Grapes can be harvested by hand or by machine depending on the future use of the grapes.  For the table market, the grapes must be picked by hand, this is to insure that the grapes remain attached in clusters and suffer little damage.  If the grapes are going to be processed then machine-harvesting maybe considered.  After picking, the grapes need to be cooled; most of this is done by forced air.

   For grapes to be grown in Saskatchewan you must winterize the vines.  Winterizing the vines starts by pruning, not only to make the vine easier to lie down but also to maximize production for the next year’s crop.  Pruning grapes might seem very drastic, removing up to 90% of the vine.  The training method that is suited for cold climate is called ‘Low Cordon’ and keeps the trunk of the vine low to the ground.  Another good training method is called the Mini-J style.  The reason the Mini J is  good for cold climates is because it has multiple trunks.  The advantage of having multiple trunks is that if one gets damaged there is another trunk that can produce in it place.  With the mini J training system the bottom wire is about 0.75m off the ground and has up to four canes on the bottom wire.  The spurs are trained to grow up to the wires above.

     Pruning of the vine is done for two reasons.  The first reason is size control and the second reason is to maximize production.  Size control is very important and dependant on the selected cultivar. Whether the vine is a very vigorous grower or not can mean the removal of up to 90% of the vine, made mostly up of canes.  The pruning also depends on the type of training system for example the ‘Low Cordon’ is pruned so the trunk of the vine is only about 0.15m above the ground and pruned so there is 1 or 2 renewal spurs and 4 or 5 buds per arm.

   The second type of pruning is thinning.  Thinning is done to maximize the production of the vine and keep the vine from over producing.  Each of the different cultivars has its own number of bunches which can be produced and therefore must be adjusted for each of the cultivars and each location.

   After the pruning is done and the vines have hardened down for the winter the next thing to do is detach the vine from the trellis and lay it down on the ground.  Cover the vine with dirt or straw or mulch at least 0.25m deep and up to 0.60m deep depending on the snow cover.
  As well as burrying the vine, a cover crop in between the rows not only helps with weed control but also helps to keep the heat in the ground.  The cover crop can also help catch snow which further adds to the insulation.

· Trunk- The permanent above ground stem.
· Cordon- The permanent horizontal extension of the trunk.
· Cane- A branch which is renewed (pruned).
· Spur- A cane that is pruned to 4 or less buds.
· Shoots- A green growth from a bud, has leaves tendrils and fruit.