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When the last bunches of grapes have already been cut, the plants must be prepared for the coming winter and fruiting next year. It’s no secret that an excellent harvest can only be obtained from healthy grape bushes. And over the summer, the vineyard was depleted, fungal diseases and viruses could appear on it. Landings suffer a lot from insect pests.
That is why the processing of grapes in the fall before sheltering for the winter is not a whim of gardeners, but a mandatory event that provides for a set of works. Do not ignore or delay the cultivation of the plantation, as this will adversely affect the wintering and laying the crop next summer. We will tell about the processing rules, the necessary preparations in the article.
Why are grapes processed?
The question of whether or not to process grapes in the fall is often asked by novice gardeners. Many consider this procedure a waste of time and effort. They motivate this by the fact that with the onset of cold weather, diseases and pests go into hibernation, and, therefore, they will not bother the plants.
This is an erroneous opinion, since diseases and pests overwinter not only in the soil, but also on the plants themselves. Spores of such diseases as mildew, oidium, alternariosis, gray rot for wintering just choose the vine. And with the onset of warm spring days, grapes will begin to attack. Therefore, autumn processing is an effective means of combating parasitic insects.
Even if you did not observe diseases in the vineyard in the summer, prevention is still worth doing.
Features of autumn processing
For beginner gardeners, processing raises many questions:
- what rules should be followed so as not to harm the plants;
- in what order grapes are processed in preparation for winter;
- what means can be used;
- how to protect grape bushes from freezing.
Let’s dwell on the issues of autumn processing of the vine in more detail.
For autumn spraying of grapes, it is best to use chemicals. They will not harm the crop, since by the time of processing all the grapes have already been cut. In addition to the destruction of pests and diseases, plants also receive additional nutrition.
Why exactly chemistry should be taken when processing? The fact is that folk remedies do not destroy diseases and pests of the vineyard by 100%. Some of them will always be able to find a secluded place and safely overwinter in buds and stems. And chemicals with careful spraying give a reliable result.
Preparations based on iron, copper and lime
What preparations can be used for the autumn processing of grapes:
- iron and copper sulfate;
- Bordeaux liquid;
- slaked lime.
Although many experienced gardeners are ambivalent about iron sulfate. They believe that the treatment of the vine in autumn with such a preparation leads to a decrease in the resistance of plants to cold and leads to freezing of the root system. They advise treating plantings with copper sulphate or Bordeaux mixture.
Solutions are prepared before processing, because during storage they lose their lethal force. You need to spray each bush from all sides, so when preparing the solution, proceed from the fact that it will take about two liters per plant.
Well destroys fungal diseases and mold slaked lime. You can cook it yourself. Dry lumps are poured with water (1 kg of lime + 3 liters of water). The resulting “sour cream” is diluted with clean water to make a full bucket. Spray the resulting composition on the plants with a paint brush or broom.
Other preparations for treatment
Of course, only copper sulfate or slaked lime is indispensable for the autumn disinfection of the vineyard. After all, they are not able to destroy many diseases. Many vineyards are affected by mildew and oidium and other viral and fungal diseases, they can only be gotten rid of with special means.
In autumn, when grapes are processed, attention is paid to each plant. Any damage to leaves and shoots should be alarming. If mildew spots are found on leaf plates, then you can use for spraying:
- Amistar or Mikal;
- Delane or Strobi;
- Novozir, Acrobat and other special means.
To destroy the oidium on the shoots, it is better to use products containing sulfur for processing.
Most often, gardeners purchase:
- Mikal or Colloidal Sulfur;
- Efal or Topaz;
- Saprol, Prvent.
Often by the fall on the leaves you can see the action of the bunch leafworm. If the infusion of tobacco or pharmacy chamomile did not help, then it is best to use a chemical preparation such as Rovikurt. For the prevention of brown spotting, they take Fundazol, Polyhom for spraying.
A tick often settles on grape bushes. Get rid of it during minting and pinching. By cutting off the affected upper part of the shoot, you can achieve almost 100 percent results. And the treatment with chemicals relieves the bushes of the tick before wintering.
Processing rules
As we have already noted, chemical treatment can only be started after the crop has been harvested. Do not wait for the leaves to fall. After all, the purpose of spraying the vine is the destruction of pests and disease spores on the leaves and soil.
For spraying use a special device. It should have a good nozzle and a sealed pump.
Chemical preparations are diluted strictly according to the instructions. Overdose is not allowed.
After we have processed the vine plantation for the first time, we give the plants a rest for about a week. Then we repeat the work to consolidate the result. Plants freed from pests and diseases will get stronger during this time and go into wintering full of strength and health.
Processing sequence
Spraying starts with early grape varieties. It is they who suffer the most from diseases, weaken faster. And this, in turn, reduces the immunity of plants and there is a risk of death of plantings in winter.
During the autumn spraying of the bushes, keep in mind that only those parts of the plant that have received a sufficient amount of the chemical will be protected. Don’t forget to spray the underside of leaves and stems. If the drug got on the ground – it’s not scary. This has its own benefits: spores of diseases and pests will be destroyed in the ground.
The spraying procedure begins in September. Late-ripening grape varieties are processed in early October. After processing, pruning, top dressing are carried out and the vine is covered for the winter.
Before the last treatment of the vine, leaves are removed from under the plants, as they may contain insects that have prepared to winter in them.
How to properly spray grapes before shelter:
Conclusion
Gardeners who have been growing grapes for a long time are well aware of the importance of autumn processing. Plants weakened by diseases and pests will still somehow overwinter, but in the spring they will begin to wither and die. Therefore, they pre-purchase the necessary drugs.
Not a single plant is left unattended. Even if there were no outbreaks of diseases in the summer, preventive treatment is mandatory. Procedures, of course, take a lot of time for gardeners in the fall. But it pays off with a bountiful harvest next season.