Trellising: nm Like any liana, the vine needs solid support to be managed with two objectives: to maintain the vine and to contain the year's young shoots.
Trellising is an agricultural technique which consists of leading a plant onto a structure by attaching its stems and branches to it using ties, with the aim of improving its quality and yield. This technique is used in particular in the fields of viticulture and arboriculture, but also concerns the production of hops and certain market gardening crops. If the system is simple (a tutor and a link for example) we must speak of “tutoring”. If the system is sophisticated we then speak of “trellising”.
So as soon as the vine is planted, stakes are placed to support the wire on which the vine will grow. The stakes are planted approximately every 5 meters and the wire is attached to each stake at a height of approximately 90 centimeters. For tall vines, trellising is necessary. Previously, if a stake (or stake) was placed at each vine stump, today fewer and stronger stakes are used. A supporting wire is used to attach the base of each vine.
Some pruning methods do not require trellising, such as cup pruning.
By extension, trellising is also the name of the sector which brings together all the manufacturers of accessories marketed for wine production and fruit growing, apart from fertilizers and phytosanitary products.
To trellis, we use stakes on which we stretch wires. At the end of the row, we put a head stake and a mooring line which will hold everything in place. We also use a certain number of accessories which will improve the whole and make the farmer's work easier.
- Why trellis : Trellising covers several objectives, the first of which consists of increasing the efficiency of the photosynthesis by optimizing the leaf surface exposed to solar radiation. Between a vine that crawls on the ground and a trellised plant, the leaf surface correctly exposed to the sun is very different. In addition, the fact of having vegetation oriented upwards leaving room for the passage of soil working, fertilizing or spraying tools is an interesting element of trellising, especially seen from the angle of mechanization. The ease of applying phytosanitary treatments and the removal of vegetation from frost-prone areas in spring (radiation frost) are significant elements to benefit from trellising.
Finally, it is customary to say that good trellising saves on trimming (removal of the tips of the shoots which are then in full growth).
- How to trellis : Whatever the crops and techniques, trellising consists of providing a “skeleton” capable of supporting and directing the growth of a plant. Depending on regional traditions, characteristics and agronomic constraints, it can take several forms. As for the vine, we can cite the single or double “guyot” form, the single or double “cordon de Royat” or “arcure” form as well.
The basis of the trellising is carried out by stretching wires on stakes. To do this, we use supporting wires (which support the weight of the vegetation), lifting wires (which are raised and hung on the stakes as the plant grows annually), mooring wires (for maintain the head stake and mooring line assembly), and stakes which are either at the head (at the end of the row) or intermediate (row stakes). In both cases they have different functions and characteristics. The head stake secures the installation to the ground by means of a mooring, while the intermediate stake takes over the load of the installation existing between two row stakes. The moorings are adapted according to the type of soil, they are anchored in the ground to hold the loads of the installation. Various other accessories are commonly used in the creation of trellising such as tensioners, extensions, staples, spacers, etc.
By extension, various objects are grouped into the family of trellising equipment such as stakes, planting protections, hail or bird protection nets, attachment and trellising links, etc.
The equipment used in trellising is generally made of natural materials such as wood, sisal, metal, etc. or of plastic materials: either polypropylene, polyethylene, polyesters, etc.…
- The right choice of wires and stakes :
– For wires, their longevity depends on mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. Galvanized wires are all the more resistant as the zinc load that coats them is significant.
– For stakes, it is the type of material that determines longevity:
In iron, oxidation deteriorates the stakes more quickly than the soil is acidic.
In wood, attacks by wood-eating fungi depend on the depth.
View: Lifting wires ; Carrier wires ; Trellis.