New vinyard to be planted. Hint & tips needed.

[Vitis_Vamvakada]

Hello…
I am new to the forum and new to the art of viticulture but am keen to gain knowledge and learn.

I am just getting ready to set up my new vineyard. About 40 000 sq meters or close to 10 acres. It’s not a big plot but rather sizeable for a first attempt.

I live in Cyprus. For those who don’t know it’s a small island in the East pocket of the Mediterranean. The summers here are intense as is the prolonged dry spell through the months of May to October. We have one ‘mellow’ vintage and I use the term lightly, once every 5 – 7 years. There are however some indigenous varieties which you may have heard of (Maratheftiko, Xynisteri) which can withstand these conditions. These are the ones I will be planting.

I do need your help with a few things:

Usually, here on the island, the prunings are buried under ground and dug up again when they are to be planted as cuttings approximately three months later. I want to put them in the ground as soon as they are pruned. I will be using a rooting hormone to help with the formation of the roots. I wont be buying commercial types as they are very expensive and needing to plant 12 000 vines will cost a fortune. I will buy some from a manufacturer. The hormone comes in very pure form at about 98% IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid )and will have to be diluted. Has anyone ever played around with this stuff before? Any hints and tips regarding root promoting and planting of the cuttings will come in very handy. Also input on how long the cutting should be and how much of it should be underground and what should be left above the surface will also help me a lot guys. The dilution of the hormone? Shall I immerse the cuttings in a solution of it and leave them there? If so how long? Would it be wiser to just dip them in the solution and straight in to a hole in the ground?

Secondly: the soil.

Very chalky. Almost pure white. High calcium content. Nearly all wines suffer from chlorosis. I will supplying the vineyard with some Iron chelate 6%. The thing is you get mixed opinions about the quantity for each plant.
When or how soon after planting them into the ground shall I add the chelate? I will be dissolving it in water and will not be made available as powder form.
How much of it is needed? I have read/heard anything from 10 grams per young plant to 50 grams and sometimes 100 grams. Any clues?


Thirdly: fertilizer.

I will fertilise as soon as I can. When will it be most appropriate? How soon after planting? I think I should use fertilizer to promote the root system first then one for the foliage. Would a 15 – 30 – 15 (N,P,K) be good for a first dose? And again please some one that has tried this tell me how much per plant is adequate.

That will be all for now. I think you all realize what I am trying to do. Any suggestions are most welcome. Do not hold back. I will be adding pictures on here shortly so you can see the progress. After all it looks like we may be planting it together

I thank you all for reading and for your input.

 

[Jah_Son]

First, to be clear, I am NOT a Cyprian vine expert. I grow two Greek varieties of grape (one white, one red) here in Florida, USA. If anyone else chimes in with more or more "local to you", expertise, take their advice over mine.

If you are using dormant cuttings, starting them the way you described is called "callusing" and then "rooting" in most places. It will work as long as you have plenty of irrigation for the cuttings once you plant them.

Most people have better success callusing them (in sand works fine) and then rooting them in a greenhouse or at least a covered area, then planting them out once they grow roots.

If you want to plant them directly, you can, but you will need to irrigate them often. You will probably have better success rooting them in controlled conditions, either humidity or a mist propagation system, before planting them out.

What works for me is to propagate from green cuttings (not dormant) using a mist system and plant them out with irrigation once they are rooted. Works great.

I also root vinifera and bunch grapes from dormant cuttings, in a peat/perlite mix, and plant in the field or pot them up once they root. The sun and dryness will be a huge hurdle to you if you just stick un-callused cuttings in the ground.

For rooting hormone, I use Dip n Grow which is 1% IBA liquid, and dilute it 10 parts water to one part hormone, so 0.1% dip, for 10 seconds. I usually get roots in 2 weeks, sometimes 3 if it's cool out (under 70 degrees fahrenheit in the root zone).

For chlorosis, my best solution (my sand and shell rock "soil" is pH 7.5 - 8) has been mulch and compost around the base of each vine. I think if you work mulch and compost into the hole or at least around it when you plant, you can wait a little while to see how much effect the chalky alkaline soil has. If your vines root deeply and well, it might not be too bad, even in alkaline soils.

In addition, standard here is to use a 10-10-10 fertilizer with Iron twice a year until the vines are established, and use a liquid fertilizer (with Iron) in the spray tank once a month until vines are established.

 

[Vitis_Vamvakada]

thank you very much for your repy. it has been very helpful.
it does raise a few more questions but i shall experiment in a controlled environment before i ask again.


thank you

 

[blumentopferde]

I've been dealing a lot with rootstock types in the last weeks, and there are a few rootstocks that tolerate very high lime (chalk) content:
140 Ruggeri: lime tolerance: ~30%, ideal for arid climates, so that could fit for Cyprus. caution: delays the ripening of the grapes
41 B Mgt: lime tolerance: ~40% caution: not fully resistant to phylloxera, but this doesn't seem to be an issue anyhow. Don't know if suitable for arid climate.
333 E.M.: lime tolerance: ~40% similar to 41 B Mgt, a bit more lime tolerance but harder to find
Fercal: >40%: highest lime tolerance of all rootstocks but only average to high draught tolerance so maybe not suitable without irrigation.

As buying grafted rootstocks would be much more expensive than planting the vines from prunings it might be worth considering to graft them youself. But that would be very time consuming, as you'd have to grow the rootstock-varieties until you have plenty of cuttings for a whole vineyard...