The recent rain we’ve been getting is certainly a welcome change. Wet weather does, however, present other challenges especially going into the pruning season. That’s right. I’m talking about trunk disease. It’s everywhere, and like viruses, growers like to pretend they don’t have it. After all, it takes years before symptoms express themselves and even longer before they amount to an economic loss. But economic loss from trunk disease is real and, uh, expensive. No one likes being told their best option is tearing out and replanting a vineyard, so let’s go over some ways to be proactive. We’re all stuck in the office right now anyway. Sometimes there are more than one pathogen present in the vascular tissue. This vine shows the classic wedge-shaped canker typical of Eutypa, but also has some spotty necrotic tissue associated with an Esca infection. What is trunk disease? Trunk disease is a catch all term that refers to fungal diseases Eutypa,

Cane-pruning now possible with the latest version of the KLIMA front-arm mounted option! Improved visibility for operator allows for quicker wire pulls, and rapid adjustments on the fly. The KLIMA cane pruning system, supported by Pellenc America, is operated after an initial pass by skilled pruners. The KLIMA cane pruner rapidly removes the canes, strips them from the wires and mulches them in a single pass from your in-row tractor or Optimum multifunction front arm. The KLIMA cane-pruning system is compatible with various wire-clips designed for quick release. Planning your vineyard for mechanization is critical in the vineyard industry. With advancements in mechanization by Pellenc, mechanical grape harvesters, advanced front-arm tools, Pellenc Connect, and the multifunction universe, it’s important to maximize efficiency and. Whether you are planting a new vineyard or retrofitting an existing block, give one our multifunction experts a call today! Learn more about t

Don’t miss your chance to increase pruning productivity by 30% this season! Infaco is fully stocked and most orders ship same-day. Our worldwide best-selling shear, the F3015 Electrocoup features: Interchangeable heads (cane pruning and Eutypa surgery with 1 tool) Patented safety system (Because 2 tons of torque – need we say more?) The fastest charging battery of any electric shear (plus it’s under 2 pounds, lasts the whole, day and doesn’t need charging during the off-season) Get the F3015 Now >>    

I'm not going to go ahead and say that I don’t think pruning is taken seriously enough. So why is it that I see poorly pruned vineyards so often? I think that most growers and viticulturists know very well how to prune grapevines and could do a great job of it on their own—if that were possible. But most growers and viticulturists do not have the ability to prune the entirety of their vineyards on their own, so they employ a labor force to prune, just like any other manual vineyard task. All vineyard operations are important, but pruning is just a little more important because pruning affects not only the upcoming growing season’s vine balance and productivity, but potentially the longer-term ability of the vine to either build or maintain its health and productivity. While there is certainly no problem handing over the pruning tasks to skilled laborers, it is important that the wishes of the grower or viticulturist is communicated effectively to the pruning crew,