Next End Soil suitability and management for Grapes production

Soil suitability for grapes  Grape, with a strong root system, can adapt to a wide range of soil from gravelly sands to clay loam and from shallow to deep with varying degree of success.  The best suited soils are sandy loams that are well drained and fairly fertile with good amount of organic matter.  Heavy clay and wet and low lying soils should be avoided. The grape is moderately tolerant to salinity and alkalinity.  Excessive lime is harmful. Next End Previous

 Vines tolerate moderate salt concentrations, but, presence of excess salts, especially sodium and free calcium is detrimental for growth.  Electrical conductivity of soil extract should not be more than 4 dSm -1 and exchangeable sodium content should be less than 15% for successful viticulture.  Free calcium concentration value exceeding 12% results in severe iron deficiency to vines. PreviousNext End

 High proline content in leaves is attributed to survival of vine under low to moderate salt stress conditions.  Exogenous application of proline or cytokinins in initial stages of growth reduces damage by salt stress.  A number of rootstocks are identified to impart salt resistance to commercial grape varieties.  They include Degrasset, Dogridge, Salt Creek, ARG No.1 and Vitis riparia. Degrasset and Dogridge are tolerant up to 6.8 and 6.5 dSm -1 under sodium salinity respectively PreviousNext End

 Soil moisture content has influence on yield and quality of grapes.  Moisture stress during first three weeks after anthesis has direct adverse effect on berry set and size, resulting in poor yield.  Delayed maturity, poor colour development and reduced berry size are results of soil moisture stress during berry development period.  Selective use of rootstocks contributes to successful cultivation in moisture stress soils. PreviousNext End

METHODS OF SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 1. Clean culture Involves regular ploughing and removal of weeds. Cultivation should be minimized by avoiding deep and frequent cultivation and also cultivation when the soil is too wet. To avoid loss of humus, nitrogen, soil erosion, formation of hard pan etc., PreviousNext End

2. Clean culture with cover crops Involves raising of a cover crop or green manure after removing the weeds. Green manure crops like Sunnhemp, Cowpea, Dhaincha, Lupins etc. are more commonly used. PreviousNext End

 Crop residues like straw, cotton stalks, leaves, saw dust, pine needles, coir dust arid other materials like polythene films or certain special kinds of paper are spread in the tree basins and in inter spaces between trees.  Main objective of mulching is to conserve soil moisture and to control the weed growth. 3. MULCHING PreviousNext End

4. Sod In this method, permanent cover of grass is raised in the orchard and no tillage is given. 5. Sod mulch This is similar to sod with the only difference is that the vegetation is cut frequently and the cut material is allowed to remain on the ground. PreviousNext End

6. Intercropping  The practice of growing any economic crop in alley spaces of the plant or in the unoccupied spaces of the long duration crop in the early periods is referred as intercropping. PreviousNext End

7. Mixed cropping  It refers to the practice of growing certain perennial crops in the alley spaces of the main perennial crops.  The main advantage is the effective utilization of available area and increase in the net income of the farm per unit area. PreviousNext End

8. Multitier system of cropping Intercropping and mixed cropping involve jointly multitier system of cropping It defined as a compatible companion of crops having varying morphological frames and rooting habits, grown together in such a manner that their canopies intercept solar energy at varying heights and their roots forage the soil at different zones. The main principle here is that the land, water and sunlight should be effectively used. PreviousNext End