| I have a sustantial purple and white grape vine which produced a fair amount of fruit. This past winter I pruned the vines back to about 1/2 and this year the vines grew with a strange disease and produced no grapes. What is wrong? I know now that I pruned at the incorrect time. |
| Grapes are best pruned in late winter and should be pruned very hard to force them into plenty of vigorous new growth the coming year. Unfortunately, most grapes also require a routine spray program in order to produce a healthy crop. This program generally begins very early in the season so as to head off various problems in their earliest (and often invisible) stages. Your County Extension (727-7850) should be able to help you in determining the most appropriate program for the specific type of grapes you have. In addition, make sure to clean up, remove and destroy any fallen plant debris now and in the fall, and to dispose promptly of your prunings next winter. This routine sanitation should help to reduce reinfection from one season to the next. |
