Washing the vine – one way to reduce the damage caused by drought

Removing 5-6 to 8 internodes of shoots from the top down is called gnawing. The most favourable biological moment for the implementation of this event is when the growth of the vines decreases. This moment coincides most often with the beginning of the oversharking or softening of the grapes. Under the conditions of our country for most of the varieties it is towards the end of July and the beginning of August. 

In general, the effect of threshing at this time is greater, when the vines have more vigorous growth and drought occurs in the summer, and there are no conditions for watering. With the crushing of the shoots, the transpiration area is reduced, and hence the evaporation of water from the leaves. In this case, the grinding plays the role of irrigation, as a result of which the grains grow and the yield increases. It is important to note, however, that care should be taken not to expose too many bunches, because there is a danger of causing sunburn.