Brown stalks on grape trusses and tiny grapes.

[michael]

I think that we may have,but not quite,exhausted the discussions on
mulching.Unfortunately I only have 30 vines in total and four
varieties,so it will not be possible to do a control test.There is
already some fairly large differences within the rows.I am inclined to
continue mulching,but without added fertiliser,due to my very dry
limestone soil I.I would very much like to hear what soil
doubi...grows his grapes on.Is the mulch mainly there to give moisture
control in a dry soil?

I have just picked most of my grapes with Brix between 17 and 19,which
is quite good for English grown grapes in a cool climate.The harvest
produced just above 2 litres of juice per vine,which again is quite
good for me.As usual I have difficulty in knowing when to pick the
grapes,it always being a balance between sugar content and rot setting
in-I tend to pick at a slightly lower Brix in order to avoid the
sorting out of the rotten grapes.

A couple more questions.

1)I noticed a large number of bunches had a brown section on the grape
struss stalk,about 1/2"-3/4" long just at the point the truss is
attached to the vine.Is this an indication of ripeness or something
else?
2)On one variety (a German hybrid called Regent),several of the
bunches had tiny grapes amongst the normal sized ones.These were
normally ripe juicy grapes,but 1/8"diameter rather than 1/2".This
obviously reduces the yield,and I wonder why these grapes did not grow
to full size.

Hope you can help
Regards,Michael

[doub...@hotmail.com]

Michael,

Do you spray for fungus during the year?

[doub...@hotmail.com]

Michael,

From what I've seen on the web, Regent is fungus resistant not fungus
proof.

[michael]

> > > Regards,Michael- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Hi doubi...
Yes,I always spray all of my vines each two weeks during the
season,mainly with wettable sulphur to suppress powdery mildew.I start
before flowering and continue until just after veraison.I must admit
that I am more careful with thorough spaying of the total vine with my
other more susceptible varieties (Bacchus and Schonburger),but I do
spray Regent every two weeks.Regent is a very easy vine to spray,as it
has a less vigorous and more open canopy.
Michael

[doub...@hotmail.com]

You might want to add some Captan into your spray routine. It is
effective against Phomophis cane and downy. You would spray it early
when the buds just start breaking and the next few times before the
pre-bloom sprays Unusually small grapes, combined with regular sized
grapes, "could" be a sign of a fungus. Then again it may not be. Do
the research on the web. All the info is out there.

[Paul E. Lehmann]

doub...@hotmail.com wrote:

> You might want to add some Captan into your spray routine. It is
> effective against Phomophis cane and downy. You would spray it early
> when the buds just start breaking and the next few times before the
> pre-bloom sprays Unusually small grapes, combined with regular sized
> grapes, "could" be a sign of a fungus. Then again it may not be. Do
> the research on the web. All the info is out there.

It (shot berries) could be a sign of poor fruit set which could be caused by
numerous things such as cool wet weather during bloom and fruit set or a
nutrient deficiency such as phosphorus. Perhaps some organic source of
phosphorous might help.

[michael]

On 1 Oct, 15:46, "Paul E. Lehmann" <plehmann_21...@yahoo.com> wrote:

You have called my small berries 'shot berries'.I thought that these
were a poor fruit set,but they are generally small hard undeveloped
berries.The small berries I mention were perfectly soft ripe
grapes,which had the same refractometer reading as the larger ones .
Michael

[michael]

I have looked at many pictures of phomopsis cane on the web,and my
problem is certainly not that.There is no other evidence of anything
wrong with the vine(it looks healthy),apart from these 1/2"-3/4" brown
stalks just at the point where the grape truss joins the vine
stem.There are a few other trusses which have died and become
shrivelled without fully developed grapes.
Michael

[Paul E. Lehmann]

michael wrote:

If you have a digital camera, perhaps you could take pictures and post them
on the net and direct us to the page they are on.

[doub...@hotmail.com]

Michael,

I think Paul is right. It probably was a fruit set issue. If the
leaves of the vine look healthy then they vines are healthy. I would
be surprised if it was a nitrient issue. If you can, mulch the vines
more before the winter.

[michael]

> on the net and direct us to the page they are on.- Hide quoted text -

>
> - Show quoted text -

Sorry,Paul.I have already harvested all of my grapes.Despite my
comments on a few problems,this has been a very good harvest for
me,with the average Brix of all of my vines being 17.5.That is good
for England,and when chapilatised(?)should make very good wine.
Thanks for all of your help.
Michael
P.S.If I mulch at all next year,which I probably will due to my very
dry site,it will be in February or March.