What is hedging and what are some of it's ramifications?:1
- trimming of the vine to produce vertical canopies resembling a hedge
- done at the growing or apical ends of the shoot
- also called tipping or topping
- removes entangling vegetation, facilitating the movement of machinery through the vineyard
- reduces carbohydrate competition between new, expanding leaves and the fruit, but also lowers vine capacity
- increases light and atmospheric exposure of the leaves and fruit
- can stimulate undesirable lateral bud activation
- late hedging (after véraison) seldom activates lateral growth
- light trimming shortly after fruit set leads to improvements in amino acid and ammonia nitrogen levels
- hedge canopies after fruit set if canopy development on normal growth vines is excessive (>20 leaves or nodes per shoot)
- hedging any time before, during, or immediately following bloom will lower yields due to decreased fruit set
- early hedging while soil moisture is abundant will promote lateral shoot growth leading to increased canopy density, increased bunch rot, decreased fruit quality, and possibly, second crop
- severe hedging will delay ripening by reducing leaf area and also exposes unacclimated fruit to direct sunlight, increasing sunburn and berry shrivel
- hedging established vineyards late, light, and in conjunction with regulated deficit irrigation and balanced mineral nutrient management is best
References:
1. Ronald Jackson, Wine Science Third Edition, Elsevier, 2008, pg. 120.
2. Lodi Wine Growers, To Hedge or Not to Hedge?.
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