Training System and Vine Spacing Impact Vine Growth, Yield, and Fruit Composition in a Vigorous Young ‘Noiret’ Vineyard

Abstract

An experimental vineyard was planted in Geneva, NY, in 2007 to determine the impact of training system [low bilateral cordon with vertical shoot positioning (LVSP), high wire bilateral cordon (HWC)], vine spacing (1.8 and 2.4 m), and root system [own-rooted, grafted onto ‘101–14 Mgt’ (Vitis riparia × Vitis rupestris)] on vine growth, yield, fruit composition, and wine quality of the recently-released winegrape ‘Noiret’ (Vitis hybrid). Yield components were generally unaffected by training system in 2009, but vines spaced at 2.4 m had about six fewer clusters per meter of canopy, lower pruning weights by 0.24 kg·m−1, and clusters that were 0.01 kg greater in mass compared with vines spaced at 1.8 m. In 2010, HWC yielded 0.98 kg·m−1 more than LVSP, and had a higher crop load ratio by 0.8. Larger vine spacing increased yield by 0.32 kg·m−1 and increased crop load ratio by 0.3. Grafted vines increased yield by 0.36 kg·m−1 and crop load ratio by 0.3. Training system and vine spacing had minimal impact on fruit composition in both years. Rank sum analysis indicated a consumer preference for the aroma of wines from the HWC/2.4-m treatment compared with wines from the LVSP/1.8-m treatment in 2009, and a consumer preference for the aroma of wines from the HWC/1.8-m treatment compared with wines from the LVSP/1.8-m treatment in 2010. Results suggest that the LVSP system is not a suitable choice for vigorous ‘Noiret’ vines because of low yields, low crop load ratios, and low preference rankings of LVSP wines by the consumer sensory panel.