Comparison of bilateral cordon training methods on the development and productivity of Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapevines

Abstract

For cool windy climates and/or lower vigor sites, delays in vine development during training can result in a greater number of growing seasons to achieve full crop yield potential. Training strategies used can be a critical factor in promoting vine development and production that is appropriate to the site conditions. Bilateral cordon training methods conducted in the second year after planting were evaluated for their influence on growth and productivity during the early years of vine establishment. These experiments were conducted in a Chardonnay vineyard and three Pinot Noir vineyards growing in the Salinas Valley of California. Cordon training methods compared in two of the Pinot Noir sites were: 1) traditional bilateral cordon, 2) traditional with cordons trained vertically on a string, 3) unilateral cordon plus a lateral in year 2, and 4) unilateral cordon plus a lateral in year three. In the third Pinot Noir site treatments 1 and 3 above were compared to vines trained to a single shoot to develop the trunk in year one and had cordons trained in year two by either choosing two shoots or leaving three to four shoots to develop and selecting the cordons to be retained late summer. All sites were designed as randomized complete block experiments. At the Chardonnay site, in which only treatments 1 and 3 were evaluated, a unilateral trained cordon plus a lateral resulted in larger vines that had higher yield potential in the early production years. For the two Pinot Noir sites, even though a unilateral trained cordon plus a lateral resulted in slightly larger vines, a smaller growth response was observed as compared to the Chardonnay site. In these two Pinot Noir sites, there were no significant yield increases during the early production years in the experimental cordon training methods when compared to the traditional cordon training. In the third Pinot Noir site developing trunks in year one resulted in larger cordon diameters in year two and higher yields in year three when compared to traditional bilateral cordon training conducted in year two.