GRAPES AGRONOMY PRACTICE

Introduction

·       Grapes (Vitis Vinifera) Belonging To The Vitaceae Family, Originated In Western Asia And Europe. It Was Introduced To India By The Persian Invaders In 1300 A. D. Grapes Is A Non-Climacteric Fruit That Grows On The Perennial And Deciduous Woody Climbing Vine. Grapes Is A Cross Pollinated Vine With Simple, Lobed, Cut Or Toothed Leaves (Seldom Compound) With Racemes Of Greenish Flowers, The Fruit Consisting Of Watery Or Fleshy Pulp, Stones And Skin, Four-Seeded.

·       Grapes Can Be Eaten As Fresh Or Used For Making Jam, Juice, Jelly, Vinegar, Wine, Grape Seed Extracts And Grape Seed Oil. Approximately 71% Of World Grape Production Is Used For Wine, 27% As Fresh Fruit, And 2% As Dried Fruit. However, In India, 90% Of The Grape Is Used For Table Purpose, Even Though Wine Making Has Made Strides. The Rest Of The Grape Is Used Mostly For Raisin.

International Scenario :

·       Grapes Occupy A Predominant Position In Terms Of World Fruit Production, Accounting For About 16% Of The Global Fruit Production. The Total World Production Of Grapes Is Estimated To Be About 68.9 Million Tonnes, Next Only To Citrus And Bananas And Is Followed By Apples. The Major Grape Producing Countries Are Italy, France, Spain, U.S.A, Turkey, Argentina, Iran, Portugal, South Africa And Chile. The Area And Production Of Grapes In Some Of The Major Grape Growing Countries Is Given In Table 1

NAME OF THE COUNTRY

AREA (‘000 Ha)

PRODUCTION (‘000 T)

SPAIN

1200.0

6401

FRANCE

842.0

6692

ITALY

755.0

8325

INDIA

60.2

1546

WORLD

7399.5

68952

National Scenario :

·       The Annual Production Of Fresh Grapes In India During The Year 2006-2007 Was To The Tune Of 16.67 Lakh Tonne From An Area Of 63600 Ha. India Ranks First In Productivity ( 25.69 T/ Ha) Against The World Productivity Of 9.32 T/Ha And Also In Terms Of Highest Recorded Yield Of 100 T/Ha. Cultivation Of Grapes In The Country Is Very Much Localized, Being Confined Primarily To Four States , Viz., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra And Tamil Nadu, Which Together Account For More Than 90 Percent Of The Area And Production. The Statewise Area, Production And Productivity Of Grapes During Is Given In Table 2 Below.

SL NO.

STATE

AREA (‘000 Ha)

PRODUCTION (’00 0 T)

PRODUCTIVITY(T/Ha)

1

ANDHRA PRADESH

2.50

51.80

20.72

2

KARNATAKA

1.80

199.00

18.43

3

MAHARASHTRA

45.40

1284.20

28.29

4

PUNJAB

1.10

30.70

27.91

5

TAMILNADU

2.80

91.60

32.71

6

OTHER STATES

1.00

10.40

1.40

 

ALL INDIA

63.60

1667.70

26.22

Organic Farming :

·       Organic Farming Is A Crop Production Method Respecting The Rules Of The Nature. It Maximises The Use Of Onfarm Resources And Minimises The Use Of Off-Farm Resources. It Is A Farming System That Seeks To Avoid The Use Of Chemical Fertilisers And Pesticides. In Organic Farming, Entire System I.E. Plant, Animal, Soil, Water And Micro-Organisms Are To Be Protected. The Guidelines For Organic Farming Is Enclosed In Annexure I.

Organic Production Of Grapes :

1.  Climate

·       The Climatic Factors Such As Temperature, Occurrence Of Frost, Rainfall And Relative Humidity Play A Vital Role For Commercial Cultivation Of Grape. Generally Grape Requires A Hot And Dry Climate. Regions With High Rainfall And Humidity Is Not Conducive For Grape Cultivation. Hence The Coastal Districts Of The State Are Not Suitable For Grape Production. Grape Is Successfully Grown In Regions Of Maharashtra With A Temperature Range Of 150C To 400C And Rainfall Of 50 To 60 Cm. The Weather Should Be Clear For About 3-4 Months During The Cropping Period. Cloudy Weather, High Humidity Low Temperature And Rain During Flowering And Berry Development Are Detrimental As They Promote Spread Of Diseases.

2.  SOIL

·       Although Grape Can Adapt To A Variety Of Soils, It Grows And Performs Best In Deep Medium-Textured Soils (Loams And Sandy Loams) With Good Drainage And Low Salt Content. Salinity Is The Major Hindrance In The Development Of Grapes. It Grows Well In Soils With A Ph Range Of 6.5 To 7.5.

3.  Propagation

·       Development Of Salt Resistant Rootstocks Like Dogridge And Salt Creek Has Given An Impetus For Area Expansion Under Grape In Saline Areas. Most Of The New Vineyards Are Established On Dogridge Rootstocks In The State Of Maharashtra. The Rootstocks Are Supplied By NRC Grapes, Maharashtra Grape Growers’ Association Etc. Some Of The Progressive Farmers Produce Rootstocks For Their Own Use And Sale. The Mother Plants Are Available With NRC Grapes And Farmers’ Field. The Rootstocks Are Raised By Planting Hard Wood Cuttings On Flat Beds At Desired Spacing, Depending Upon The Variety And Method Of Training.

4.  Training

·       Training Is An Important Operation In Grapes. It Helps To Maintain The Stature And Spread Of The Vine And Facilitates Operations Like Pruning, Intercultivation, Spraying And Harvesting. There Are Many Systems Of Training. The Common Systems In India Are Bower, Kniffin, Telephone, Trellis And Head System. Under The Climatic Conditions Of Maharashtra, Bower And Trellis System Has Been Found To Be The Best For Commercial Varieties Like Thompson Seedless, Sharad Seedless And Tas-A-Ganesh. In Bower System, A Bower Of 2.1 M Height Is Erected Using Stone Pillars As Support And Galvanized Iron Wire Of 8 And 10 Guage Thickness For Mesh. One Vigorous Growing Shoot Is Selected By Nipping Off Other Shoots And This Single Shoot Is Allowed To Grow Up Straight With The Support Of Bamboo Or Plastic Wire Stake..

·       All The Axillary Shoots Are Pruned And The Main Growing Shoot Pinched Off At 15 Cm, Below The Pandal Level. Two Shoots Arising Below The Cut Area Are Allowed To Grow In Opposite Direction On The Wires Overhead. These Two Shoots Develop Into Main Arms. On The Main Arms, Side Shoots Are Allowed To Grow At Regular Intervals Of 40 To 45 Cm. These Side Shoots Are Called Secondaries And Tertiaries Or Canes From Which Fruiting Spurs Develop. The Arms And Secondaries Form The Permanent Frame Work Of The Vine.

5.  Pruning

·       Removal Of Any Vegetative Part In A Vine Is Called Pruning. It Is A Critical Operation In Grape Cultivation. Therefore Much Care And Precision Needs To Be Exercised In Pruning A Vine. The Main Objective Of Pruning Grapevine Is To Increase Productivity, Facilitate Interculture Operations And Maintain Desired Vine Framework And Vitality Of The Vine For Consistent Productivity. In Organic Grape Cultivation, The Vines Are Forced To Undergo Rest For About A Month Immediately After Harvest. 

6.  Manuring

·       Manuring Is Done By Applying FYM At The Rate Of 55 T/Ha. Biofertilizers Like Azatobacter, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria(PSB), Effective Microorganism (EM), Neem Cake And Vermiwash Are Being Used To Supplement The Nutrient Requirement Of Crop. Trichoderma, Azatobacter And PSB Are Applied At The Rate Of 25 G/Plant. Neem Cake Is Applied At The Rate Of 1.25 T/Ha. Jeevamrut Is Prepared By Adding 10 Kg Cow Dung, 5 L Cow Urine, 2 Kg Black Jaggery, 2 Kg Ground Pulses Powder, Handful Of Bund Soil In 200 L Of Water. The Solution Is Kept For 2 To 7 Days In Shade For Fermentation. During The Fermentation, The Solution Is Stirred Daily. To Improve The Quality Of Grapes, A Solution Of Sugar, Humic Acid And Coconut Water Is Sprayed At Bud Development Stage.

7.  Irrigation

·       A Fully Grown Vine Requires About 1000 L Of Water In Winter And 2000 L In Summer Season Immediately After Pruning And Application Of Fertilizer. Vines Are Given 2 To 3 Summer Irrigation At 3-4 Days Interval. During Winter, An Interval Of 8-10 Days Is Maintained Between Two Irrigation. The Vines Are To Be Irrigated When The Top 5 Cm Soil Is Dry In Winter And 3.5 Cm Top Soil Is Dry In Summer. During Berry Development Stage Irrigations Are Given At Weekly Intervals And The Same Is Withheld 10 Days Before Harvesting To Improve Quality.