Mischa Kwkery, Blok No.1

The Vine Guys kwekery blok na grondkartering en voorbereiding met Dawid Saaiman en Eben Archer.

Vineyard Planning Graph

This is a VERY basic planning graph that we use with all our customers to help plan the optimal replanting period taking into account Vine age vs Tonnage vs Virus infection.

These are the factors critical to vineyard planning in SA and you have to take into account.

Your objectives will obviously be different if you are doing Quality vs Production but you need to know you tolerances and optimums for each factor over time so if you are moving out of the "sweet spot" you can attend to it immediately.

For more info: get in touch 021 8641020

-Andrew

Root Stock Selector

Here is a link to an Australian root stock selector that should give you an idea of the root stocks that would be suitable for your farm.

Check out: http://bit.ly/rootstockselc

Also have a look at page 59 of the August edition of the Wineland magazine to see our article on the subject.

Remember that any final decision should be based on local experience.

If you would like futher assistance with selecting a rootstock give us a call:

021-8641020.

Virus management – Essential points

Below you will find a few essential points for virus control and elimination. If you would like further information please contact us directly.

1. Plant only the best possible material from a reputable nursery
2. Make sure all roots have been removed if the soils previously had vineyard on it.
3. Rest the soil for a minimum of one year with a rotation of the correct cover crops.
4. Identify possible sources of re-infection (nearby infected vineyards)
5. Set up mealy bug traps and check regularly
6. Keep ants out of the vineyards and schedule regular inspections
7. Know how to identify virus infected vines
8. Remove and replace any questionably vines for the first four years.
9. control weeds and plants that are mealy bug hosts
10. Monitor infection rates and correlate them with Quality/yield to determine what level of infection makes a vineyard uneconomic.

Hydration, water = life

After counting and bundling we to hydrate our plant material thoroughly, as losses can occur very quickly through the drying out.

In every phase of the production we limit the exposure of material to drying out, quick turn around time. As standard a we hydrate our plant material for 24hrs and if deemed necessary we leave the material in for up to 48hrs. How do we know if material needs to be hydrated for a longer period.....? Easy, asses the bundle by determining it weight. E.g. to light = hydrate for longer or we squeeze the tips of the cuttings and asses the amount of sap that comes out.

Remember our objective is to get as many grafted vines to grow as possible, by keeping the reserves at a max we are giving the plant its best chance possible to make a 1st grade vine. Otherwise we end up with expensive compost.

Until next time, stay hydrated!

Accountability

After cutting-up the rootstock and removing all the nodes we move the boxes of finished rootstock into the store for counting and quality checks. Each box has a name on it so if we encounter any problems we can go straight to the source and correct it. The industry standard is a 100 cuttings in a bundle, so what you are seeing in this picture is the employees counting and packing the rootstock into small boxes ready for bundling.

The Ultimate Hygiene Plan

These 3 pictures all have one thing in common, hygiene, sanitation and disinfection. As it would be we are quite pedantic about our hygiene and that has been carried over into the business with great success.
In the 1st picture the floor area where all the cutting-up takes place, is being washed with a special product specifically designed for the vine industry. In the 2nd and 3rd pictures you can see the employees equipment being dipped in a disinfectant, this is done every morning.
By following these simple practises we prevent the spreading of diseases and unwanted pathogens.

A load of rootstock

Another quality load from our rootstock supplier. The bundles in this picture are US8-7 and were placed on the other side of the truck in the shade. The rootstock is irrigated at regular intervals to prevent drying out.

Next we touch on ultimate hygiene...

Removal of Rootstock nodes

This phase, the removal of rootstock nodes is a follow on from the cutting up. On a rootstock cutting you can get anything from 2 to 3 nodes and sometimes 4. The general practise is to remove all the nodes, but some nurserymen like to leave the bottom node. Our philosophy is that the rootstock is for rooting, therefore we remove all the nodes so the root doesn't use its reserves where it isn't needed. Ok so we've received the rootstock in bundle form, then cut it up according to spec and finally removed all the nodes.

What next???........Stay posted and find out!

Cutting up of 'foundation block' rootstock

20 May 2009 Mischa Vines received its first batch of rootstock from its foundation block, namely US 8-7. We receive the rootstock in bundle form and then cut the rootstock up according to the standards set out by the Vine Improvement Association (VIA). For optimum quality it's important that the shoots are mature over the entire length and are free of damage. The physical requirements for certified shoots are a minimum internode diameter of 6,5mm, but no less than 70% of graft shoots are not allowed to be less than 7mm in diameter. The maximum internode diameter is 12mm.

Mischa Vine Harvest 2009

25 May 2009, Mischa nursery has officially begun harvesting vines. In this picture we are harvesting a combination called Autumn Royal on a rootstock called Ramsey. Autumn Royal is a very delicious table grape variety that can be bought at Woolworths in S.A., go give it a try.

From an initial glance the vines look strong and healthy. Visually they are well above the physical requirements set out by the VIA and the take seems higher than expected, which is great! Following this process will be the grading of the vines where I will give more detail about the requirements for a certified vine. Stay posted.....