Grapes (Vitis spp)

Grapes
• Grapes belong to the Vitaceae family
• The genus Vitis is broadly distributed
 Grape is a fruiting berry of the deciduous woody vines
 Is most delicious, refreshing and nourishing fruits.
• European grapevine, which is native to the Mediterranean
and Central Asia
• Minor amounts of fruit and wine come from four other
American and Asian species
– Vitis labrusca: the N. American
– Vitis riparia: a wild vine
– Vitis riparia: native to the entire eastern USA
– Vitis rotundifolia: native to SE
– Vitis amurensis: Asian species
Vitis is split into 2 subgenera:
1. Euvitis - "True grapes"; elongated clusters, berries
that adhere to stems at maturity, forked tendrils,
loose bark that detaches in long strips, and
diaphragms in pith at nodes.
 Vitis vinifera, the European grape, and
 V. labrusca, the Concord grape.
2. Muscadinia - "Muscadine grapes"; small fruit
clusters, thick-skinned fruit, berries that detach
one-by-one as they mature, simple tendrils, smooth
bark with lenticels, and lack diaphragms in pith at
nodes.
 V. rotundifolia.
Muscadine Concord
 71% of world grape
production is for wine
making,
 27% for table purpose
and 2% for others. eg.??

Vinifera grapes
V. vinifera L.
• the European or Wine grape.
• Vitis vinifera is also called "Old World grape" since
most production occurs in Europe and the other
species are native to the New World.
• This species accounts for over 90% of world grape
production.
• Most of the production is used to make wine, but it is
also the primary species used for table (fresh eating) &
raisin grape production. '.
• There are at least 5000 cultivars of Vinifera
grapes grown worldwide
• Grapes Species and cultivars are also classified by
food usage:
1. Table grapes. These are consumed as fresh fruit.
 Thompson seedless is a major cultivar of table grape.
 Other seedless cultivars include Flame Seedless &
Ruby Seedless (both red), & Perlette
 seeded cultivars …. Emperor, Ribier, and Calmeria.
2.

Thompson seedless
.
Perlette
Flame
 Calmeria
Emperor
Ribier,
2. Raisin grapes. Thompson seedless is the
major cultivar worldwide

3. Sweet juice grapes. juice, jelly, jam,

preserves, and some wine is produced from
sweet juice grapes.
4. Wine grapes.
• Some wine is produced from all grape species
• but the bulk of commercial production is dominated by V.
vinifera cultivars.
• Several French-American hybrids also produce good
quality wine
6. Turkey (6%)
Top 10 producer countries
1. Italy (13%) 7. Iran (4%)
2. France (12%) 8. Argentina (4%)
3. Spain (10%) 9. Australia (3%)
4. USA (8%) 10. Chile (3%)
5. China (8%)
 BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
Plant
• All Vitis are "lianas" or woody, climbing vines, deciduous
• Tendrils occur opposite leaves at nodes, and automatically begin to
coil when they contact another object.
• Vinifera and American bunch grapes have loose, flaky bark on
older wood, but smooth bark on 1-yr-old wood.
• Muscadine vines have smooth bark on wood of all ages.
• Leaves vary in shape and size depending on species and cultivar.
– Muscadine grapes have small (5-7.5cm), round, unlobed leaves
with dentate margins.
– Vinifera and American bunch grapes have large (up to 20-25cm
in width) cordate to orbicular leaves, which may be lobed.
Flower
• Flowers are small (0.32cm), indiscrete, and
green, borne in racemose panicles opposite leaves
at the base of current season's growth.
• There are 5 each of sepals, petals, and stamens.
• Ovaries are superior (hypogynous flower)
• Species in Euvitis may have 100+ flowers per
cluster, whereas muscadine grapes have only 10-
30.
• Vinifera and Concord grapes are perfect-flowered
and self-fruitful, whereas some muscadine
cultivars have only pistillate flowers.
Pollination
•Most grapes are self-fruitful and do not require pollinizers;

•however, pistillate muscadines (e.g., 'Fry', 'Higgins', 'Jumbo')

must be interplanted with perfect-flowered cultivars for
pollination.
Fruit
• Grapes are true berries; small (<2.5cm), round to
oblong, with up to 4 seeds
• Berries are often glaucous, having a fine layer of
wax on the surface.
• Skin is generally thin, and is the source of the
anthocyanin compounds giving rise to red, blue,
purple, and
Thinning black
is not (dark purple)
practiced for colored grapes.
• most
. types;
crop load is controlled through
meticulous
However, pruning. hybrids may
French-American
require cluster thinning for development
of quality and proper vine vigor
Here is an explanation of terms used to describe parts of
the grape plant or its growth.
Cane. A mature shoot after harvest and leaf fall; a shoot
becomes a cane after the growing season.
Cordon. An extension of the trunk, usually trained along a
wire, from which spurs grow.
Fruiting zone. The section of a
shoot where fruit clusters
appear.

Head. The top of the trunk

where it transitions to cordon,
spurs, or canes.
Shoot. New green growth with leaves, tendrils, and
often flower clusters, developing from a bud on a
cane or spur.
Spur. A cane pruned back to one to five buds. A
spur is on a cordon or at the head of the vine.
water sprout. a shoot
growing from old wood,
often at the trunk base
. at the head of the
or
vine
Root system
• Spreading
• One-third of total weight
• Can grow more than 3m
Ecology
Temperature:
• grapes can be grown where the frost-free period is from
150 to 180 days.
• If the growing season is too short, fruit may not mature
completely and may be poor in quality & low in sugar
content at harvest.
• Diseases such as black rot and downy mildew are more
frequent under warmer temperatures and high humidity
• Once growth starts in the spring and the buds have
extended to approx. 5cm in length, they are susceptible
to damage from temperatures below -2oC.
• Optimum temperature: 20-25oC.

Altitude: 800-2000masl
Soil: deep, loamy, rich in organic matter, well drained
 pH=6.2-7.2
Light: full sun light
 Propagation

 Grape can be propagated both by sexual and

asexual methods.
 Sexual propagation is encountered with a no. of
unwanted characters like:
poor germination

long period for germination

the seedling does not resemble the parent

 Propagation cont…

 Asexual or vegetative propagation on the other

hand has high percentage of success and it ensures
genetic purity.
 Vegetative propagation in grape is practiced through
cuttings, grafting, layering and budding depending
on the varieties used and the growing conditions.
 Propagation through hardwood cuttings is the most
popular method of propagation in grape.
 1. Cutting
 Cuttings are used for very rapid propagation of
vines on their own roots.
 Cuttings made from well matured one season
canes from productive vines which are of medium
in thickness (0.6 to 1 cm), with 25-30cm in length
with at least 3-4 buds and dormant should be
selected preferably from the August pruning.
 Make the basal cut just below the lower bud, and
the upper cut 2.5 to 5cm above the top bud.
 The rooted cuttings will be ready for planting in
the main field after 6-12months.
 2. Layering
• Layering is a specialized method to replant
missing vines in an established vineyard.
• Competition from adjacent vines is generally so
great that a replant is not successful unless the
grower can devote extra care to frequently water
the replant.
• A long cane from the adjacent vine is extended to
the old planting location, buried at the stake
position with the top of the cane pruned to two
to four buds above the ground, and tied to the
stake.
 2. Layering cont…
• The new vine obtains nutrition from the parent
vine, and roots develop on the lower part of the
buried cane.
• After two to three years the new vine may be
detached from the mother plant.
• It is necessary to use a cultivar that produces long
canes (Thompson Seedless, Emperor).
 3. Grafting/budding
 When first grape phylloxera/aphid and later
root-knot nematode infections of grapevines
were identified, growers in affected areas had to
change their propagation methods.
 Whip, wedge and chip (budding) grafting is
commonly used grafting technique to produce
new seedling or to rejuvenate/change the existing
vineyard (top working/grafting).
 There are rootstock varieties for this purpose:
Phylloxera (Aphid) resistant
Soil salinity
 Planting
 Preparation of the land before planting grape vine is
essential.
 The land is prepare thoroughly by deep plowing and
followed up by tillage and the land should be leveled.
 A pit size of 50cm diameter X 60cm depth is
required and prepared a month before planting
Spacing:
 The spacing that is given between the vines will
depend on soil, climate, and vigour of the variety,
method of training, pruning and cultivation practices
 It ranges from 3m X 3m to 4.5m X 4.5m b/n rows
and plants, but at D/Zeit 2.5m X 2m
Planting cont…
• dig plants carefully to avoid breaking roots
• prune off all broken roots and trim very long roots.
• Right after planting, prune off all but one vigorous 1-
year-old cane from nursery-bought plants. Prune the cane
back to two buds.
• Set plants in a hole large enough to spread roots without
bending them.
•Young grapevines can’t compete
with weeds or established lawn
grass for water and nutrients.
•Keep the planting free of all weeds
in the establishment years.
 Pruning and Training
Training the young vine
• Pruning and training are perhaps the most
important cultural management practices for
grapes.
• The main goal of training the vine in the
establishment year is to develop a well-
established root system and a trunk
• In the planting year, select the strongest shoot that
grows from each newly planted vine and train it to
a stake or twine that’s attached to the trellis wire,
so that it develops a straight trunk
• Once the shoot reaches the wire or desired head
height, do not top it during the growing season.
• Instead, wait until the vine is dormant.
• Cut it at a node (through a bud) about 3 to 4
inches above the desired height, and tie it to the
wire training and
•Further
pruning depend on the
training system you choose

•Once you choose the

training system, you’ll build
a trellis

•No fruit is produced in the

• Training is the arrangement of the vine on the
trellis.
• There are many different types of training systems
for wine grapes, but all have the same goals:
To position the annual shoot growth so that the fruit
and leaves receive optimum exposure to light.
To position the fruit for ease of pest control and ease
of harvest.
To facilitate pruning and other vineyard management
operations.
• Optimum sunlight exposure of leaves and fruit
ensures good fruit quality and bud fruitfulness.
• Without adequate exposure, fruit quality suffers
• Shading has detrimental effects on fruit quality, such as
lower soluble solids; higher total acidity; higher pH;
reduced color, anthocyanin, and phenolic content; and
increased potassium content.
• Wine quality can be adversely affected by each of these
changes.
Choosing a Training System
• Growers are advised and cautioned that there is no
universal training system.
• With this in mind, a grower should realize that choosing
a training system depends on several factors, including
the anticipated vigor of the vineyard, cultivar to be
planted, capital and annual labor cost, equipment used,
and the potential to mechanize the vineyard.
High Bi-Lateral Cordon (HC)
• The HC or single curtain is the most commonly
used training system
• Two cordons extend along the top wire (1.5 to
1.8m above ground) of the trellis in each direction
• The cordons remain as semi-permanent extensions
of the trunk, though they may need replacement
every five or so years
• A second training wire may be used at 90 to 105
cm above ground to provide extra support for
young and mature vines and minimize breakage
from strong winds.
• Fruiting spurs two- to six-nodes long are spaced
along this cordon.
• Shorter renewal spurs are left to provide fruiting
wood for the next season.
• The primary advantages of HC are
 low establishment and production costs and
 ease of mechanization, including mechanical harvesting and pre-pruning.
 The high location of the fruit and renewal zones improves sunlight
penetration, which thus has the potential to increase yield.
 Wildlife depredation and frost injury may also be minimized.
Umbrella Kniffin
• This system utilizes long canes (10 to 20 buds each) that originate
from renewal spurs at or near the top of the trunk.
• Four to six canes are retained, bent over the trellis wires, and tied
securely.
• Mechanical damage to the tender buds during the tying process can be
a problem, so pruning and tying must be finished before bud swell
begins.
• Other drawbacks of this system include extra time and effort for tying,
and difficulty in leaving extra buds to protect against damage from
spring frosts
• Additionally, cane pruning cannot be mechanized.
Vertical-Shoot Position
• This Vertical-Shoot Position (VSP) system is also called
low- or mid-cordon system and is the most commonly
used trellis worldwide on vinifera cultivars.
• Trunks are trained to a low (30 cm) or mid wire (up to
105 cm) with cordons or canes extending along this wire.
• Shoots are positioned vertically upward between two to
three pairs of catch wires.
• The first pair of catch wires is positioned about 25cm
above the cordon wire; the second and third at 30 cm and
60cm above the first catch wires
• Shoot positioning is done by either moving catch wires
or by manually tucking shoots between fixed catch wires
• The advantage of this system is that the distance
between rows can be reduced, allowing more
efficient vineyard design and improved
productivity.
• It is also easy to manage and mechanize.
• This system keeps the fruiting wood close to the
ground to allow easy renewal of trunks in case of
winter injury.
The Hudson River umbrella
• system is a modification of the Umbrella Kniffin
system where the arms extend along the top wire
halfway to the next vine.
• These arms, now called cordons, will live & bear
fruiting spurs for several years. Spurs arise along
They aid in
cordons & maintaining
used to position shoots.
a narrow canopy to
facilitate good light
penetration throughout
the canopy and to keep
the drive areas between
Head training
• In areas with limited space, it’s possible to train vines
to a self-supporting trunk with no trellis.
• Young vine trunks are tied to a stake and become self-
supporting as they grow
• Prune vines to long spurs that originate at the head of
the vine
• This method is inexpensive and requires less space,
but yields are lower.
• A common mistake made in the home garden is to
“hedge prune” these head-trained vines
• This produces too many spurs, which leaves too many
buds that are too short for good fruit production
Fan
• is the most common and probably also the oldest
technique to train vines on walls.
• It is inferior to the strict cordon forms, because
fans often become messy and unmanageable.
Trellis
• A trellis is required for most training systems.
• Building a trellis is like building a fence: take care
to make the trellis strong and brace it well.
• It needs to bear the weight of vigorously growing
vines and a heavy crop.
• It’s best to build the trellis in the first growing
season, so that you can start training vines to the
trellis early (rather than to a stake).
• The type of trellis you need varies with the training
system you use
• However, all trellises have certain characteristics in
End posts: should be strong, about 2.5 to 3m long, and have a
diameter of at least 15cm.
• Treated wooden posts are best, though you can use concrete
or large steel posts.
• Set end posts about 60 to 90cm deep and leaning slightly
away from the center of the row. For most training systems,
1.8m of post should be above ground.
• To brace the end posts, use large screw anchors or an “H”
brace
Line posts: are those in the row between the end posts.
• Space them 5.5 to 6.5m apart (or every three plants) and set
them 60cm deep.
• Wooden line posts should have a minimum diameter of 7cm.
Use high-tensile, 12-gauge or heavier wire.
Pruning
• Proper pruning and training are essential for producing a
good yield of high-quality fruit and maintaining a balance
between vegetative growth and fruiting.
• The most common problem in home garden grape
production is that vines aren’t pruned hard enough.
• When you prune, you must remove most of the wood
produced the previous season—prune off about 90 percent!
• Leave relatively little wood to produce the following
season’s crop.
• If you prune properly, your vine will be more manageable
and have better fruit.
• Poor pruning year after year leads to a low yield and poor
fruit quality.
• Grapevines can be pruned throughout the dormant season.
• Delaying pruning until later in the dormant season also tends
to hold back growth that may be affected by untimely frosts.
• Bleeding flow of sap from the wounds may occur when
vines are pruned late, but this does no harm to the vine.
• There are two basic types of pruning�
1. cane pruning and
2. spur pruning.
• These differ only in the length of the one-year-old fruiting
wood that is retained.
• Cane pruning requires that long, 10- to 20-node fruiting
canes be retained for fruiting.
• Spur pruning utilizes short, 2- to 6-node canes (called
spurs) for fruiting.
 Cane pruning, second winter
Cane pruning, second growing season

Cane pruning, third growing season.

 Cane pruning, third winter before pruning (shaded
canes will be retained for next season’s fruiting
wood).

Cane pruning, third winter after pruning. Cane pruning, fourth winter before pruning
(shaded canes will be retained for next
season’s fruiting wood).
Cane pruning, fourth winter after pruning.

Spur pruning, third winter before pruning

(shading indicates fruiting spurs that will be
retained for next season).
 Spur pruning, fourth winter before
pruning (shading indicates fruiting spurs
Spur pruning, third winter after pruning that will be retained for next season).

Spur pruning, fourth winter

after pruning.
Characteristics of Retained Wood at Pruning
• Grapevines produce fruit only from one-year-old wood, called a
cane; thus, long or short canes should be retained during pruning.
These canes are selected based on the following criteria:
1. Good sun exposure of shoots and leaves during the previous
growing season. Shade canes that do not have good sun exposure
should be removed.
2. Canes should be healthy and free from diseases
3. Canes should be at least 0.6cm diameter (pencil size)
4. Large-diameter (more than 1.2 cm) canes, called bull canes, should
be removed because they are more susceptible to cold injury.
5. Canes should originate from arms near the main trunk or cordon
6. Cane bark should be a bright and uniform reddish-brown color.
7. Internode length should be 12 to 20cm
 Fertilizer
The fertilizer application rate varies
depending on different conditions.
At D/Zeit, 50g UREA and 100g DAP per
tree is practiced
 Irrigation
 Irrigation will pay for itself in the early years of a
well-managed vineyard.
 Supplemental irrigation increases plant survival in
the first two years.
 Mature vines need consistent moisture through
the summer for fruit growth and quality, as well
as for fruit bud development for next year’s crop.
 Weed control
 It is important to provide good weed control
during the first year or two of vineyard
establishment.
 Young grapevines do not compete well with
grasses and other weeds, and weed growth can
lead to increased disease problems .
 Varieties registered in Ethiopia
S.No Name Color Productivity (t/ha)
1 Ugni Blanch White 7.1
2 Grenache Blanch Red 9
3 Cannonano Red 6.6
4 Grenache noir Red 7.6
5 Black Hamberg Red 4
6 Dodom Alietico Red 6
 Grape diseases
1. Grape downy mildew
• This disease causes direct losses when flowers,
clusters, and shoots decay and yields are reduced.
Symptoms
• Infected leaves develop yellowish-green lesions on
their upper surfaces.
• As lesions expand, the affected areas turn brown,
necrotic, or mottled
• Severely infected leaves may curl and drop from the
vine.
• The pathogen sporulates on the underside of foliar
lesions, producing the white, downy fungal-like
 Control
 Cultivar selection
 Site selection and cultural management
– Do not plant on shady areas
– Good canopy management
 Fungicides: ridomyl gold at 2.5kg/ha
 Disease cont…
2. Powdery Mildew of Grape
Symptoms
• Powdery mildew can infect all green parts of the
grapevine.
• This disease is most easily recognized by the dusty
appearance or white powdery growth occurring in
patches on fruit
• When young expanding leaves are infected, they may
become distorted and stunted.
• Severely affected leaves may curl upward during hot
dry weather.
• Dark brown to black blotchy lesions form on diseased
 Control
 Cultivar selection
 Site selection and cultural management
– Do not plant on shady areas
– Good canopy management
 Fungicides: bayleton 1kg/ha
 HARVEST, POSTHARVEST HANDLING
Maturity
• Table grapes. Time of harvest is determined mostly by
appearance, including color and size of berries.
• Raisins. Grapes ripen fully on the vine before picking.
'Thompson Seedless', the major raisin cultivar, reaches 22-
23 0Brix at full maturity, and this is easily determined with
a refractometer.
• Wine grapes. Harvest criteria, and hence date, depend on
type of wine to be made.
• For any given type, sugar ( 0Brix) is perhaps the most
important parameter, although pH, total acidity, sugar/acid
ratio, and specific components such as tannins are also
very important.
 • Postharvest Handling
• Table grapes. Packing and shipping occurs immediately after
harvest or after short periods of cold storage.
• Raisins. harvested grapes are placed onto drying papers in single
layers, or in small clusters.
• When they are dry enough (13-15% moisture) that juice cannot
be squeezed out when pressed, they are ready for curing.
• Wine. The science of wine-making is called enology. The basic
processes are these:
• Harvested grapes are de-stemmed and crushed, where the "must"
is extracted ("must"=juice+skins+seeds±stems for red; juice only
for white).
• Adjustments of sugar level and acid can be done at this point.
• Sulfur dioxide is added to prevent oxidation and color
deterioration, selectively activate certain yeasts for fermentation,
and kill bacteria and other undesirable microbes.
• must is transferred to fermentation vats for sugar alcohol conversion.
• Fermentation is stopped by racking or dispensing wine into
containers; sometimes SO2 is used to stop the process and act as a
preservative.
• Wines are filtered, then may be aged in oak barrels for some time
prior to bottling.
• Bottling takes place at appropriate age, after ultra-filtration for clarity
and antisepsis.
CONTRIBUTION TO DIET
• Grapes are about 80 percent water
• Grapes also add fiber to the diet.
• Red grapes are rich in quercetin, a newly discovered anticancer agent
• The major food products made from grapes are
Wine - 50-55% Canned - < 1%
Table - 10-15% Juice, jelly, etc. - 6-9%
Raisins - 25-30%
 e e rs ! !
C h Fentahun A. 70