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The meThod of SimoniT & Sirch: TheoreTical remarkS and pracTical guide for guyoT and Spurred cordon

«SOFT PRUNING» FOR GROWING AND PRODUCTION

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«SOFT PRUNING» FOR GROWING AND PRODUCTIONThe reaSonS of The longeviTyin aid of The viTiculTure of The fuTure

«SOFT PRUNING» AGAINSTvINeYARD DeTeRIORATIONlife’S a vinevine phySiology and healThThe BirTh of a meThod

DRY vINe PRUNINGPeRFORmeD ONlY ON YOUNG WOODpruning pracTiceSThe SimoniT&Sirch preparaTori d’uva meThodreTrieving old vineyardSfarm STaff Training

SCUOlA ITAlIANA DI POTATURA DellA vITe20 hour WinTer courSe12 hour Spring-Summer courSeSchoolS

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«SOFT PRUNING» FOR GROWING AND PRODUCTION

The meThod of SimoniT & Sirch, Two vinedreSSerS Specialized in dry vine pruning: TheoreTical remarkS and pracTical guide for guyoT and Spurred cordon.

Swiss research recently confirmed the superior quality of wine made with 40-50 year old vines as compared to 7-8 year old plants, especially with regard to red grape vines. given the higher balance of red grapes, they have a better ability to withstand the effects of climate change and more specifically the prolonged lack of water. in light of the above it is paramount and incumbent upon us to help vines to age well, as was the goal of two friulian agronomists named marco Simonit and pierpaolo Sirch. as a matter of fact marco Simonit and pierpaolo Sirch devised a pruning method that is particularly well suited to the goal. The vines are managed by always pruning young wood and leading the plant to a happy old age. i witnessed the development

of the method since, as far back as ten years ago; the two summoned me to friuli so that i could have a look at the vineyards where they were applying their idea. immediately started to ponder the pros and cons of it and in a short time came to the conclusion that this method could prove very interesting for the future of our grape growing. i started to promote this gobelet-inspired groundbreaking technique among italian grape growers.

if we take two apparently distant examples, Sulcis gobelet and Taurasi alberate, you may notice that pruning is never performed to the trunk of older parts of the plant, but rather on two-year branches. in the gobelet technique pruning happens on the spur, in the avellino

one fact is certain: when standing before a 80-100 year-old vine one cannot help but feel surprised and impressed. and these types of encounters are becoming rarer and rarer in europe, while it is much more common to find very old vines, sometimes over 150 years of age, in the near east in the older grape-growing areas of australia. pre-phylloxera viticulture counted with many examples of 300-400 year-old vines (even 445 years in one case of a vine in the novara area, mentioned around the Twenties, or the upper portion of the clos de vougeot vineyard in Burgundy, whose vines, at the time of the french revolution, were 400-500 years of age). a vine located in reims’ Jesuits’ college (france) is still remembered today,

as it is over 300 years old and yields over 30 kg of grapes from which a wine used for mass is produced, or again the versoaln vine, a long gone variety, located in alto adige, prissiano, that was over 350 years in age. in campania, along the amalfi coast and in irpinia, it is fairly common to find Tintore, aglianico or Sirica stocks that are over 250 years old.

it is only fair to ask oneself where such longevity comes from, and one is instinctively inclined to compare those vines with people who live fit and well into their nineties of even hundreds. it is not possible to give one single answer; in the case of humans longevity depends on the gene pool, the diet, lifestyle, affection, and the

ability to withstand psychological strain. in the case of vines, in addition to specific conditions in root growth, which should grow as extensively as possible, the absence of grafts plays a key role together with shoot growth and productivity balance to allow vines to withstand draughts, root asphyxia and nutrient shortage without consequences. as for men, longevity does not happen by chance but it is the result of accurate choices made by the grape growers. from a survey of the sites where these vines are found in italy, it turns out that the common denominator to all those varieties is dry pruning.

in aid of The viTiculTure of The fuTureWhy is it important to safeguard the integrity and vitality of old vineyards? not only for the quality of the wine they yield or the value they hold in terms of culture and landscape, but also because they stand as a priceless pool of genes to be used to create new clones, likely to be more resistant to diseases and viruses than others. it is likely that these plants have unique features to their gene memory, in terms of the transmission of the epigenetic code. The epigenetic code is the code that regulates the genes through biochemical processes without changing dna sequences generation after generation, thus allowing for steady gene expression without any mutations occurring which may cause alterations in the plant’s behaviour, with both positive and negative consequences. in addition it should not be forgotten that the vineyards

where the patriarchs of viticulture are still found combine not only high intra-varietal variability, but also a variety based on other vines, very rare ones sometimes, since in the past it was fairly customary to create multi-variety vineyards.

it is not hard to understand that these vines have a rather fleeting biologic material, since they may die at any minute. in order not to squander their genetic value, it would be crucial to survey these patriarchs and write a descriptive sheet and a dna profile. With the help of grape growers, who are becoming more and more aware of these vines, the appropriate pruning techniques are applied to preserve the plant and to compile an ex situ collection of the derived vines to evaluate their genetics and production. The project has been operational for several years in bundle with important italian

grape growers, the department of vegetable production of the university of milan. in particular, within the scope of a project funded by feudi di San gregorio in Sorbo Serpico (av), aglianico and other campania vines older than 200 years have already been identified and described.

in Sardinia, the akea project («a kent’annos», Sardinian for a hundred years) is researching ultra centenarian people to evaluate the relation of genes and the expression of specific proteins that are found only in the very old. once again the destinies of men and vines cross their paths.

Attilio ScienzaDepartment of Vegetable

ProductionUniversity of Milan

attilio.scienza@unimi.it

counterpart on an old downward branch made with a permanent high cordon. This pruning technique may be applied to any form of training and allow to consistently benefit the plant’s life. Since vines do not have the ability to grow a healing callus on large cuts, while younger branches do, such lesions are not only a gateway for the fungi that cause esca disease and eutipiosis, but they also cause the gradual death of remarkable trunk portions. as such they reduce the efficiency of the plant to transport solutes and metabolites. it so happens that very often such stretches of dead tissue are not visible from the outside and cause the sudden death of plants during the drier summer times; this event is often regarded as a normal and unpredictable event.

The reaSonS of The longeviTy

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«SOFT PRUNING» AGAINST vINeYARD DeTeRIORATION

a TechniQue BaSed on an ancienT TradiTion

over the last thirty years there happened a radical change in viticulture with regard to vine training. all over italy, though in different ways and fashions, there was a shift from traditional methods, with slightly different applications, to vSp Trellised forms. more and more vineyards are being converted to guyot or spurred cordon. The two systems allow targeted vineyard thickening to reduce plant average yield and increase quality. in some cases the homologation of grape growing techniques brought about sensitive changes in the landscape, simplifying it and reducing the typical diversity of every territory (pictures 1 and 2).

in friuli, for instance, friulian Tocai and refosco, traditionally trained in double bending canes, are being

By observing the pruning techniques employed by grape growers in old vineyards, the Simonit&Sirch method, named after the two vinedressers that invented it, was devised to safeguard the physical structure of vines. Thus the vascular continuity of the plant is guaranteed and is free to exert its positive influence on the balance, hence, the production quality of the plant.

Pictures 1, 2. By comparing a complex (1) and simplified (2) viticulture system it is possible to measure the extent of the change caused to landscape by vineyard systems homologation.

shifted to guyot; Sangiovese, in Tuscany, from a bending cane system was moved to spurred cordon. in Trentino, the traditional pergola trentina was partly replaced with guyot. The same shift took place in campania’s tennecchia (see picture 3), in Sicily and puglia, where tendone and gobelet were replaced with the two forms of vSp Trellis. in veneto, too, Sylvoz and casarsa were often converted to guyot of Spurred cordon (picture 1).

The traditional vSp Trellis forms, e.g. the bending canes, the distance between the stocks was at least 1.0 or 1.2 metres; in the new guyot the distance between the stocks varied between 0.7 to 0.9 metres and hardly ever exceed 1 metre. Thus, a single viticulture model has spread and

consolidated throughout the country.

This fixed geometry system increased the problems relating to vine acrotony. if the traditional expanded forms allowed to develop branches that grew distantly from the trunk because the single plant had enough room for them to develop, by shifting to very thick training forms the available room for growth was drastically reduced (picture 2).

Thirty years after their first application, these forms are causing problems all over the country with regard to vine acrotony containment.

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life’S a vinein nature, a vine can grow up to several metres given its acrotonous nature, that is, it tends to form its shoots from distal buds (farther away from the point where the branch intersects with the trunk) rather than from proximal buds. Without pruning, then, the foliage draws rapidly away from the trunk base (picture 4).

vineyards are currently too modified by men, that is, they are too affected in their growth by countless interventions by men. Winter pruning is the most mutilating technical intervention vines have to endure. from a climbing-like perennial plant, vine becomes a sort bush with limited

and pre-ordained volume, space and plant distance, from the training to the pruning method.

The geometrical constriction forces grape growers to do a way, with year after year, most of the produced wood. no farmer in their right mind would ever cut away 80-90% of the year’s growth on an apple or pear tree to contain their development without causing a return in vegetative vigour. Trees – and fruit and forest tree pruners know it too well – have a tendency to restore what was taken away from them by an external cause. This principle is often used to restore the vigour to weakened trees by practically pollarding them.

in the case of a vine, winter pruning – a mutilating practice – is repeated year after year (pictures 5 and 6). frequent and repeated pruning of branches near the trunk and the vegetative spots force vines to continuously adapt to a new lymph circulation arrangement: the stream is otherwise rearranged and stimulated in a different way every year.

Pictures 3, 4. The non-pruned vine colonized, just like all vines do, a neighbouring tree. The abandoned and non-pruned vine shows foliage – predominant in the fruiting area – farther away from the trunk.

Pictures 5, 6. Evident pruning cut scars.These wounds are the result of too severe pruning.

Figure 1. Scheme of the most common trellis training systems. Guyot (a); Spurred cordon (b), two-branch bud trellis.

pollard

spurbuds

fruit end

branch

trunk

roots

vertical trunk

horizontal trunk

shoot

spur

buds

roots

growingpoint

1°brunchbud

2°brunchbud

internode

Bourillon

crown buds

a b c

1,20 m 1,20 m

0,80 m 0,80 m 0,80 m

Figure 2. Comparison between traditional “elastic” and “fixed geometry” systems. Above, the traditional “elastic” system: the distance between the stocks makes it possible for the plant to develop branches at the end of the trunk without losing its fruiting buds. Below, a rigid “fixed geometry” system: the reduced distance between the stocks prevents the excessive development of branches and hence many fruiting buds are lost.

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vine phySiology and healTh

vines, just like any other living being, age. aging may be normal, physiologic, hence following the course of time, and accelerated, when, besides time, other external causes are also involved. To name but a few: irreversible pathogen aggression, particularly severe viruses, more or less prolonged stress, physiologic inefficiencies, indiscriminate pruning and much more.

often, when observing from the outside a vine that doesn’t show any particular symptoms, we tend to regard it as a “healthy” specimen. in truth any observation of the external state of the plant gives but a partial view of the plant’s health. By analysing the

Figure 3. The extent of internal desiccation is directly proportionate to its size. Pruning damages are will visible (a). Larger and deeper ones caused by an extensive wound (b). When a number of pruning wounds concentrate at the head of the vine (c) there is a reduction in the portion of healthy wood with a convergence of desiccation cones and the subsequent rearrangement of the vascular system towards the portions of live wood (c).

external state of the wood, for instance, we may not come to evaluate the integrity of the plant’s vascular system.

The three plants in picture 7and 8, for instance, are of the same age, variety and from the same guyot trained vineyard. in the vineyard they appeared to be productive and externally different in form and similar in looks, as they did not show any particular symptom of any diseases. once we performed a longitudinal section of the trunk we detected a remarkable difference in the “heath state” of the three plants. in two of them the portion of healthy wood not affected by vascular system damage is dramatically reduced.

The same remark may apply to plants of different ages trained with spurred cordon (pictures 9, 10): externally the three of them look “healthy”, while on the inside two of them show necrosis at the spurs and a drastic reduction of the vascular system.

The above analysis confirms what is extensively assumed in literature about the main causes to internal deterioration, due to pruning scars that compromise the vascular system.

When a branch is severed, the vessels that feed it dry out and form a desiccation cone that spreads into live wood. The wider the cuts and the older the wood

a b c

dead wood

Small cut(1-2 years old)

dead wood dead wood

large cut(over 3 years of age)

pruning scars

desiccation cones

Pictures 7, 8. Vines from the same Guyot-trained vineyard; same age and variety. From the outside they look healthy. By observing the longitudinal section of the three trunks it may be observed that extensive damage is affecting the 2 trunks on the right.

Pictures 9, 10.Asymptomatic spurred cordon-trained vine trunk

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these are performed on, the faster and deeper the above cones spread into live wood (figure 3a-b).

The amount of affected wood in the pruned area and the desiccation cone are proportionate to the size of the very cut. if over the years many different pruning cuts are performed , the vine responds by naturally abandoning a large portion of its trunk. The scars concentrate on the head of the trunk and the stream of lymph diverges rapidly due to the concentration of the desiccation cones. The efficiency of the vascular system under such conditions is irreparably damaged (figure 3c and picture 11).

in order to have an efficient vascular system it is necessary to form an internal vascular channel network that is uninterrupted by the desiccation cones. it is important not to have large pruning cuts and rather resort to smaller cuts on young one or two year-old wood. This linear growth is typical of the gobelet system, where pruning is always performed at the tip of the spur-carrying branches (picture 14).

an efficient transport system translates to an external balance of the plant. The vegetation and productive expression of plant with an undamaged vascular system is more uniform that that of a plant with an impaired one.

This homogeneity is evident in terms of sprouting, fertility, phenological phases, development and lignification (figures 12 and 13). This balance, both in the plant and more generally throughout the vineyard is always sought as guarantee of quality production. in the light of these remarks pruning – a key agronomical operation – outlines as a “delicate” practice given the amount of damage it may cause the plant if performed inaccurately.

Picture 12. Example of general non homogeneous. Uneven shooting along the fruiting end, non-homogeneous production, different cluster morphology, uneven ripening of the clusters on the same plant, different shoot vigour along the fruiting end. This vine probably features a transversal section of the trunk with a reduced portion of healthy wood.

Picture 13. Example of general homogeneous. Even shooting along the fruiting end, homogeneous production, even cluster morphology, homogeneous ripening of the clusters on the same plant, well-balanced vigour of the shoots along the fruiting end. This vine probably features a transversal section of the trunk with whole and healthy wood.

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once it is understood how important it is to perform winter pruning carefully, the next step was to search the oldest vineyards and follow the adopted pruning techniques. in the process we visited countless vineyards all over europe and shared our views with the oldest pruners, in an accurate reviewing how they carried out pruning and the state of their plants’ health. Thus we noticed that the older vineyards were those trained in the most classic gobelet fashion. gobelet training is particularly long lived because it is always pruned on young wood and develops by forming branches from the main trunk (picture 14), since no old and vital part of the plant is ever done away with. Such system does not cause any space constraint and the plant is free to grown in the three dimensions.

The hardest part in our research was to transfer the gobelet training technique to modern viticulture, represented, as highlighted before, by rather intensive vSp Trellised training methods, namely, guyot and spurred cordon.

This process, over twenty years spent observing, testing and working hand in hand with old

pruners, led us to discover that their approach was basically different by the method widely accepted and applied in italy.

The correct approach to winter pruning is mainly focused on preserving the plant’s physical structure; first of all it is key to decrease the number of pruning wounds. Secondly, large pruning cuts should be avoided in favour of smaller cuts to younger branches; thus the goals of reducing the pruning surface and obtaining an uninterrupted vascular system will be met.

Small-sized wounds, in particular those on one or two-year-old wood, may easily be absorbed by growing wood. This is easier to obtain by following a “clean” cut, that does not remove the buds on the crown located at the very base of one or two-year old wood (pictures 15,16). in addition, these methods and practices could reduce the onset of pathogen fungi into the wounds, this favouring the physical integrity of wood into the trunk to be preserved. it is our understanding that the rare occurrence of an old vineyard in italy could be due to poor knowledge and familiarity with

The BirTh of a meThod

Picture 14. The gobelet system provides for linear and steady growth of the branches, which translates to a linear stream of lymph into the four branches (left, black arrows). The gobelet is long lived because pruning happens on young wood and develops by forming branches on the main trunk.

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pruning techniques that, by the way, are no longer taught.

finally, we came to the conclusion that a new plant management method was to be researched to preserve the permanent structure whole.

it is a known fact that almost all vine wood diseases, including the esca disease, are caused by fungi that find their main gateway into the plants in the pruning wounds. in the case of eutipiosis, the period in which wounds are exposed to potential high infection was carefully timed; the same was done for the esca disease but in the latter case the moment in which the likelihood of infection is at its highest was also carefully researched, given the higher presence in the air and on the plant in that particular moment, of fungi agent propagules. The above information, if conscientiously managed, may allow to attempt some form of disease containment.

This alone is not enough, though: esca disease prevention – the struggle against this disease, for the time being, is impossible – must also rest on other drastic measures. one of them could be “soft pruning” that, thanks to the small size of the wounds (which may remain resistant

to infection for entire months) reduced the likelihood of the esca fungus making its way into the plant. if pruning does not include those cuts that are most aggressive to the vascular system the chances of infection are drastically reduced. preserving and maintaining an “uninterrupted” vascular system development, unhindered by interruptions caused by continuous pruning, may well produce better resilience against infection and protection of the inner shoot. The content of this article is merely a viable indication, though hypothetical, that deserves being looked into, given that only a combined set of measures, the ones mentioned here and others, may lead us to defeating the esca disease.

Laura MugnaiDepartment of agricultural biotechnologyVegetable pathology desk – University

of Florence

7th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases Santa Cruz, Chile, 17-21 January 2010.From the 17 to 21 January 2010, in Santa Cruz, Chile, the 7th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases will be organized by the International Council on Grapevine Trunk diseases (www.icgtd.org), an international research group comprised of researchers coming from all grape growing areas of the world who deal with vine wood diseases and, more specifically, the esca disease. The previous workshop took place in Florence in 2008 and the works presented in Florence and the following seminars were collected into special tomes by the Phytopathologia Mediterranea review (www.fupress.com/pm).

informations at: www.icgtd.org

help in The STruggle againST The eSca diSeaSe

Pictures 15, 16. It is important to hold the pruners in the proper position in order not to remove the crown buds while cutting.

Thus the “soft pruning” Simonit&Sirch method, named after the two vinedressers, was invented and you may find a description in the following article.

Picture 17. A proper pruning cut performed without removing the crown buds.

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DRY vINe PRUNING PeRFORmeD ONlY ON YOUNG WOOD

on guyoT and Spurred cordon

The permanent structure of grapevine is comprised of the trunk and the root system. The efficiency and health of those organs is at the base of the correct physiology of the plant.

The Simonit&Sirch preparatori d’uva method, consists of a set of modular processes that, if implemented steadily over the years, allow for controlled plant growth by means of pruning only one or two year-old wood.

The most commonly used vSp Trellis types of grapevine training over the last few years are two: guyot and Spurred cordon. following we’ll examine the traditional pruning methods and the Simonit&Sirch preparatori d’uva method.

pruning pracTiceS

guyoTWinter guyot pruning consists of keeping a trunk for production, also called fruiting end, and a lower spur for renewal (figure 4a). The following cuts are performed: the so-called “past cut” to remove the fruiting end produced the previous year, and the “present cut”, made by selecting one of the two trunks

that sprung from the spur for the fruiting end and the other one as the new spur (figure 4b). Thus year after year, at the end of the trunk there will form a thickened part called “pollard” that should keep generating buds (pictures 18, 19).

The goal of pruning should be to

maintain the “head” 15-20 cm below the wire, that is at a useful distance to make it easier to bend the fruiting end and continuously renewing this area of the plant without having to resort to large return cuts. over the years, though, we witnessed the growth of branches starting from the head

Pictures 18, 19. Guyot. Pollard. The thickening formed at the tip of the trunk after a few years of traditional Guyot pruning. Progressive heightening of the pollard. Remarkable pruning wounds on the pollard (18).

Figure 4. Classic Guyot (a) and pruning diagram (b).

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and the progressive heightening of the trunk, which results in the difficulty of bending the fruiting end and the ensuing loss of fruiting buds (picture 20).

as a consequence of continuous wounds and scars forming on the head year after year, there produces a progressive closure of the lymph flow needed to nourish the fruiting end and the spur.

There is, then, a decrease in blooming on the head; thus it gets more and more unlikely to obtain useful trunks for renewal.

i order to avoid aging and favouring plant rejuvenation the solution – taught in schools and universities and suggested in literature – is the so-called “return cut” or “pollarding”. This technique suggests to leave a spur, from

the trunk, in a lower position than the head, to return to in order to lower the new pollard (pictures 20, 21). Thus frequent pollarding causes the trunk to develop sizeable scars and lose remarkable portions of wood; the lymph stream is thus compromised (pictures 22, 23).

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Picture 20. Guyot-trained plant prepared for a return cut to be performed the following year to shorten the stock. Picture 21. Guyot-trained plant that underwent a return cut to shorten the stock.

Picture 22. Guyot. Large pruning scars. The consequences into the trunk.

Picture 23. Guyot. Large pruning scars.

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Spurred cordonThe spurred cordon training method is comprised of a vertical trunk that stretches horizontally with the vegetative points arranged at a distance of 15-30 cm (figure 5).

The vegetative points are the 2-branch-bud production centres where the spurs are located, and are renewed yearly for production purposes. The number of vegetative points varies depending

on the winemaking, farm, environmental and genetic goals.

Traditional pruning teaches to keep the spurs as close as possible to the cordon, thus avoiding the formation of branches. Should this happen, it is important to keep a bud at the base of the branch and, the following year, spur it when removing the same branch. in summation, the same return cuts are performed, just like in the

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Picture 25. Spurred cordon trained plant prepared for a return cut.

Figure 5. Classic spurred cordon. Picture 26. Spurred cordon-trained plants that underwent a return cut to lower the position of the spurs.

guyot method (pictures 25, 26). These operations, if performed repeatedly over the years, causes many scars to form on the horizontal cordon, which, as they dry, make it difficult for the plant to form new buds and favour the loss of vegetative points and a drop n productivity (picture 24).

This causes frequent explants of vineyards that are no longer productive though still young.

Picture 24. Loss of vegetative points following repeated cuts in time.

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The Simonit&Sirch preparatori d’uva method consists of a set of modular processes that, if implemented steadily over the years, allow for controlled plant growth by means of pruning only one or two year-old wood.

This new approach, inspired by the gobelet pruning method allows the plant to form into a growing structure that will mark the training form (picture 27).

in particular, in the case of the spurred cordon, a permanent trunk develops (main channel) with several branches whose number depends on the number of vegetative points (secondary collectors). These collectors grow upwards in a controlled way as in

the branches of the gobelet (figure 6a).

in the case of guyot, having the bending wire as the upper limit, a structure must be developed that runs parallel to the bending wire that will take a characteristic “T” shape given to the ramification of the trunk into two opposite directions (figure 6b).

The SimoniT&Sirch preparaTori d’uva meThod

Figure 6. Controlled growth and continuity of the lymph vessels. On spurred cordon (a) and Guyot (b).

a b

The method cannot do without timely and targeted green pruning. during this phase it is paramount to leave only those buds that are instrumental to the abovementioned growth. Thus the number of dry pruning cuts is also reduced.

Picture 27. Vine and vineyard homogeneity. Preparatori d’Uva - Simonit&Sirch method.

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guyoT pruning

While structuring a plant, one of the key operations is the structure of the trunk. The trunk makes it possible to have continuity of vessels back and forth from the roots to the aerial part. during this phase it is important to seek linearity, in order to avoid bottlenecks or obstacles that may hinder the efficient lymph flow.

Thus, it is very important to start with a well planned method as early as on the first pruning. for the first year of vine shoot vegetation there will be many different buds. With green pruning it is possible to select the two

most vertical buds. during winter pruning, the most vertical shoot is usually selected to be spurred at one branch bud (figure 7a, b).

for the second year of vegetation several buds will start from the vine shoot and from the spur. With green pruning it is possible to keep only two buds on the spur, thus guaranteeing continuity to the vascular system. during winter pruning, after the shedding of the leaves, there are two trunks. Between them, we select the most vertical that will be cut at the bending wire (figure 7c, d). at the third year of vegetation, after

blooming, it is time to set the green pruning by leaving four buds that start from the newly established trunk. The most important is the one located 20-25 cm below the bending wire (figure 7e).

at pruning the final height of the trunk is selected, by cutting the main trunk (20-25 cm below the bending wire) to turn it into the fruiting end. This trunk must be carefully bent in order to have a “loop” bend, that is, by bending the trunk on the opposite side than the growth direction (figure 7f). during this phase it is necessary to deliberately set the guyot without

Figure 7. Simonit&Sirch Preparatori d’uva method for Guyot – Opening the horizontal channels for Guyot.The vine shoot after green pruning (a). At the end of the first year of vegetation (b). The two-budded spur (c). The shoot pruned at the bending wire (d). The vine after bud selection (e). Loop bending of the shoots (f). Shoots at the base of the fruiting end inserted at the same level (g). Beginning of two horizontal channel opening (h). Bud selection on the first year of vegetation (i). Consolidation and controlled growth of the two horizontal channels (l). Consolidation and controlled growth of the two horizontal channels (m).

Pictures 28, 29 - Figure 8. Result after 20 years of application of this method. The good health of the trunk is visible in the longitudinal section.

a b c d e f

a spur under the fruiting end, thus avoiding, during the following pruning, to cut three-year-old wood. as we’ll see, from now on there will be cuts only on wood of one or two years of age.

opening The horizonTal channelSat the fourth year vegetation blooming, thanks to the “loop” bending, acrotony is reduced (that is, blooming of the farthest buds from the intersection of the shoot in the trunk) in the plant and the likelihood of new buds forming from the basal buds is increased.

These buds are needed to begin the development of two horizontal channels. only when we will have two opposite shoots intersecting at the same level on the base of the fruiting end (figure 7g), the guyot will be arranged with one branch-bud spur on one side and the fruiting end on the other (figure 7h). on the opposite case the loop bending is to be continued on the first useful shoot without arranging the spur.

at the beginning of the fifth year of vegetation there is the selection of the buds to keep developing the two horizontal channels.

practically, two buds on the spur will be kept together with another two at the base of the fruiting end. The number of buds to be left on the fruiting end varies depending on farm, environmental and genetic goals (figure 7i).

This operation, if repeated year after year, will allow the two channels to grow and consolidate in a controlled fashion (figure 7l). The growth of the horizontal channels, over time, will also provide the alternative of switching to bilateral guyot (figure 8; picture 28).

g h i l m

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20-25 cm 20-25 cm 20-25 cm 20-25 cm

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Spurred cordon pruning

The same principles highlighted for the guyot method apply for this particular plant structuring. in this case it is also very important to start with a well-planned approach from the very first pruning.

during the first year of vegetation the vine shoot will bear several buds. With green pruning it is possible to select the two most vertical buds. during winter pruning, the most vertical shoot is usually selected to be spurred at one branch bud (figure 9a, b).

for the second year of vegetation several buds will start from the vine shoot and from the spur. With green pruning it is possible to keep only two buds on the spur, thus guaranteeing continuity to the vascular system. during winter pruning, after the shedding of the leaves, there are two trunks. Between them, we select the most vertical that will be cut at the bending wire (figure 9c, d).

at the third year of vegetation, after blooming, it is time to set the green pruning by leaving four buds that

start from the newly established trunk. The most important is the one located 20-25 cm below the bending wire (figure 9e).

at pruning the final height of the trunk is selected, by cutting the main trunk (20-25 cm below the bending wire) to turn it into the fruiting end. This trunk must be carefully bent in order to have a “loop” bend, that is, by bending the trunk on the opposite side than the growth direction. as reminded before loop bending has the effect of reducing acrotony and obtaining

Figure 9. Simonit&Sirch – Preparatori d’uva method for spurred cordonThe vine shoot after green pruning (a). At the end of the first year of vegetation (b). The two-budded spur (c). The shoot pruned at the bending wire (d). The vine after bud selection (e). cordon setting (f). Arrangement of the secondary collectors in the spurred cordon. Grapevine after green pruning (g). Setting the spurs (h). Grapevine with two buds from the spurs (i). Pruned grapevine (l). Consolidation and controlled growth of the secondary collectors (m).

Pictures 30, 31 - Figure 10.Result after 20 years of application of this method.

The good health of the trunk is visible in the longitudinal section.

a b c d e f

more uniform blooming. during bending the aim is to position the first bud facing up towards the trainer in order not to lose room in the arrangement of the spurs-to-be (fgure 9f).

Secondary collecTorS SeTTingat the beginning of the fourth year of vegetation, the horizontal cordon bears the buds that shoot from the upward facing gems, plus one spare one on the trunk.

With winter pruning the vertical

shoots will be spurred at one branch bud, setting the position for the future secondary collectors (figure 9g, h).

as we’ll see, from now on pruning will be performed exclusively on one or two-year old wood. during the fifth year of vegetation, green pruning is used to select the buds that will continue the development of the secondary collectors, by removing the buds on the old wood. practically the method consists of keeping only two buds from the

spurs. With winter pruning the spur is renewed by pruning the shoot that is inserted in the more vertical position (figure 9i, l).This operation, if repeated year after year, will allow the two channels to grow and consolidate in a controlled fashion (figure 9m).

The results obtained after twenty years applying our method, are well visible in pictures 30, 31.

g h i l m

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20-25 cm 20-25 cm

1918

reviTalizing The guyoT pollard

The method may be introduced in vineyards of any age, either guyot or spurred cordon trained, pruned with the “traditional” method.Before the shift it is wise to assess the health condition of the plants in order to decide the course of the operation. The vitality of the trunks but be ascertained in order to expect the vegetative response in the “key” spots of every form of training.

in guyot vineyards the first step is to detect the position of the “head” on the trunk. it there is no significant sign of necrosis on the head, which would

reTrieving old vineyardS

in the majority of the critical situations it is possible to detect the ideal position of the “head” where to develop the two horizontal channels. it is very difficult, though, to immediately proceed to the retrieval, given that in this position there are no useful buds or, in the most fortunate cases, there is one single bud to be used as fruiting ends. Therefore, it is necessary to

make it impossible for the plant to develop new buds, then the two-channel way is a viable solution.

in the case of spurred cordon vineyards, the first thing to do is to select the best spots to retrieve the vegetative points. if on those spots there is no major necrosis, then the “secondary collector” is the method of choice.

if the “heads” on the guyot and the vegetative points on the spurred cordon are irreparably compromised and beyond saving, the trunk shall have to be redeveloped from the ground up.

restore vitality to this part of the plant.

The role of loop bending is key on the fruit end because it improves blooming in this very point. The goal is to stimulate the development of shoots in the correct position in order to select the spur and the fruiting end and start training the two channels. if it should be

decided to redevelop the trunk, it is crucial to train another base shoot right at the graft intersection. This new shoot shall be trained as if it were a new plant, while keeping the production of the plant that needs to be replaced (pictures 32, 33).

reviTalizing The vegeTaTive poinTS of The Spurred cordon

The main problem of traditionally pruned spurred cordons is the loss of vegetative points. This may cause, as explained before, the repeated cuts and ensuing scars found in the very spots that are performed to prevent the spurs to draw farther from the main cordon.

retrieving a spurred cordon means to restore the lost vegetative points (picture 35). The retrieval of the “secondary collectors” or vegetative points happens by means of winter pruning that gets rid of all redundant shoots and a timely intervention to remove the buds on the trunk. The removal of redundant shoots, that is, those located outside of the arrangement of the horizontal cordon, allows for a balanced distribution of the plant’s efforts that are thus focused on the spurs left in place.

it is important to remove the downward spurs. This work causes better and more uniform blossoming of the chosen vegetative points.

another important help to vegetative point consolidation is provided by a timely intervention to remove the buds on the trunk, to focus the energy given to the production of buds only in those spots defined during winter pruning. repeated and consecutive interventions of this kind allow to restore the plant in the majority of cases (picture 36).

if it should be decided to redevelop the trunk, it is crucial to train another base shoot right at the graft intersection (picture 37) and then follow the development process of the spurred cordon as if it were a young plant.

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We do believe that in order to achieve a good result in terms of quality work and efficacy, the method should be applied for at least three years. The training programme is comprised of a theoretical and practical course on the application of this method at the beginning of every farming year to all farm staff.

farm STaff Training

during pruning the students are constantly supervised in order to correct any mistakes. The farm directors are involved actively in the tutoring phase with the purpose of becoming the reference in the future for the management of pruning according to the method. as complicated as it may seem, performing a well thought and

Team preparaTori d’uvamarco Simonitpierpaolo Sirch

lorenzo manfredamassimo giudicimarco ostanriccardo Turata

respectful cut is not rocket science for all those who have enough practical sense.

Staff training and the hours spent working in the vineyard to reach a deep knowledge are an important investment to reduce stock mortality and to prolong the lives of our plants.

Simonit&Sirch-Preparatori d’Uva

The italian School of grapevine pruning is a project meant to enhance the pruner profession and restore the dignity to an ancient art.

The train of thoughts that led us to establishing the first italian School of grapevine pruning sprung from the will to restore the importance of a job that has been forgotten for over 30 years. The idea has also remarkable environmental value: the vineyard landscape is respected and tended to in its specific features, far from the uniformity caused by mechanized pruning that make all italian vineyards the same and do not respect traditional varieties, changing from one region to the next. in addition the school is revisiting a job and may create job opportunities for young workers in the eco-green industries.

following the above ideas in 2009 we devised the first grapevine pruning school, as an experiment, with courses held at

the department of food Science of pollenzo (Bra, cuneo) in piedmont and the enzo morganti foundation c/o the San felice farm in castelnuovo Berardenga – chianti classico (Siena).in 2010 5 new branches of the italian School of grapevine pruning were opened.

The structure is organized in 4-day courses: the goal is to transfer the key principles of winter and spring pruning. The participants will receive theoretical training and will participate in practical sessions in the vineyard, a priceless way to train the future pruners.at the end of the course there will be a practical test. if successful, the student will be given an attendance certificate issued by the School.

Who iS The School for: the courses are open to all in the vine and grape supply chain (directors, technicians, workers, etc.), to students and also to amateurs and non-professionals.

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Theory: introduction to grapevine physiology. visual presentation of the pruning methods on guyot and Spurred cordon (production and training plants) according to the Simonit&Sirch – preparatori d’uva method.

Practice: practical aspects of soft pruning with reference to the two main training and production phases, on guyot and spurred cordon plants according to the Simonit&Sirch – preparatori d’uva method.

20 hourWinTercourSe

Theory: visual presentation of the bud selection methods on guyot and Spurred cordon (production and training plants) according to the Simonit&Sirch – preparatori d’uva method.

Practice: practical aspects of gem selection with reference to the two main training and production phases, on guyot and spurred cordon plants according to the Simonit&Sirch – preparatori d’uva method.

12 hourSpring-Summer courSe

campaniafeudi di San gregorio farm (Sorbo Serpico - av)In bundle with Istituto Agrario “De Sanctis”, Avellino

piemonTeuniversity of gastronomy Science of pollenzo (cn)With the support of the University ofGastronomy Science of Pollenzo and Slow Food

ToScana San felice farm (castelnuovo Berardenga - Si)in bundle with the Enzo Morganti Foundation

friulicomune di cormons (ud)In bundle with Udine University, department of Agriculture

SchoolS

inSTiTuTional parTnerSprovince of udinechamber of commerce of udine university of udineuniversity of milanouniversity of pollenzoagriculture department of Sicily regionagriculture institute of San michele all’adigeconsortium for the protection of the Trentino Wines cervim - centre for reseach, Studies and enhancement of mountain grape growing

lomBardia Bellavista farm (BS)In bundle with Terre Moretti

alTo adige laimburg Sperimental institute (Bz)In bundle with Laimburg Sperimental Institute and Ex-Alumni group

TrenTinoagriculture institute of San michele all’adige (San michele all’adige - Tn)In bundle with the Agriculture Institute of San Michele all’Adige and Edmund Mach Foundation

val d’aoSTaregional agriculture institute (la rochére - ao)In bundle with Regional Agriculture Institute

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PREPARATORI D’UVA Srlpreparatoriuva@preparatoriuva.it

Via Papa Giovanni 6233040 Corno di Rosazzo (Udine) - ItalyT +39 0432 752417F +39 0432 752425www.simonitesirch.it