35. HORIZONTAL TRAINING.
Excellent results are obtained from the slender growing varieties by this method of training, but it is too expensive in trellis and in labor of tying to make it generally practicable. Delaware, however, thrives remarkably well when trained in this fashion.
Post Training.—There are various methods of training to posts, all of which possess two advantages—the saving of the expense of trellis and allowing of cultivation both ways. But they also have grave disadvantages, especially in the thickness of the head of foliage which harbors rot and mildew and prevents successful spraying, and hinders the fruit from coloring and ripening well. These faults are so serious that post training is now little used for the American grapes. The saving in cost of trellis is not great, for more posts are required to the acre than in the trellis systems, and they do not endure long when standing alone with the whole weight of the vines thrown upon them.
36. LOW POST TRAINING.
There are various methods of pruning for the stake training, but nearly all of them agree in pruning to side spurs upon a permanent upright arm which stands the full height of the vine. There may be one or two sets of these spurs. We might suppose the Kniffin vine, shown in [fig. 22], to be tied to a post instead of stretched on a trellis; in that event, the four canes would hang at will, or they might be wrapped about the post, the shoots hanging out unsupported in all directions. The post systems are essentially Kniffin in principle, for the shoots hang free. In low styles of post training, the permanent head of the vine may be only three or four feet high. This head will have a ring of spurs on it, and at the annual pruning three to five canes with from six to ten buds each are left. [Fig. 36] is a view in such a post vineyard.
The main trunk is usually tied permanently to the post. The canes left after pruning are variously disposed. Sometimes they are bent upwards and tied to the post above the head of the vine, but they are oftenest either wound loosely about the post, or are allowed to hang loose. Two trunks are frequently used to each post, both coming from the ground from a common root. These are wound about the post in opposite directions, one outside the other, and if the outside one is secured at the top by a small nail driven through it, or by a cord, no other tying will be necessary. Sometimes two or three posts are set at distances of one foot or more apart, and the vines are wrapped about them, but this only augments the size and depth of the mass of foliage. Now and then one sees a careful post training, in which but little wood is left and vigorous breaking out of shoots practiced, which gives excellent results; but on the whole, it cannot be recommended. The European post and stake systems or modifications of them, are yet occasionally recommended for American vines, but under general conditions, especially in commercial grape growing, they rarely succeed long. One of the latest recommendations of any of these types is that of the single pole system of the Upper Rhine Valley, by A. F. Hofer, of Iowa, in a little treatise published in 1878.
Arbors.—Arbors and bowers are usually formed with little reference to pruning and training. The first object is to secure shade and seclusion, and these are conditions which may seriously interfere with the production of fine grapes. As a rule, too much wood must be allowed to grow, and the soil about arbors is rarely ever cultivated. Still, fair results in fruit can be obtained if the operator makes a diligent use of the pruning shears. It is usually best to carry one main or permanent trunk up to the top or center of the arbor. Along this trunk at intervals of two feet or less, spurs may be left to which the wood is renewed each year. If the vines stand six feet apart about the arbor—which is a satisfactory distance—one cane three feet long may be left on each spur when the pruning is done. The shoots which spring from these canes will soon cover up the intermediate spaces. At the close of the season, this entire cane with its laterals is cut away at the spur, and another three-foot cane—which grew during the season—is left in its place. This pruning is essentially that of the Kniffin vine in [fig. 22]. Imagine this vine, with as many joints or tiers as necessary, laid upon the arbor. The canes are tied out horizontally to the slats instead of being tied on wires. This same system—running up a long trunk and cutting in to side spurs—will apply equally well to tall walls and fences which it is desired to cover. Undoubtedly a better plan, so far as yield and quality of fruit is concerned, is to renew back nearly to the root, bringing up a strong new cane, or perhaps two or three every year, and cutting the old ones off; but as the vines are desired for shade one does not care to wait until midsummer for the vines to reach and cover the top of the arbor.