From the Board Don’t let the hoggets in with the old ewes. SAMANTHA WICKHAM
MARLBOROUGH IS a veritable checkerboard of vineyards in different cycles of life, from new developments and complete replanting programmes through to replacing dead or diseased vines. We travelled the district preharvest to look, from a nursery perspective, at young vines planted last year. It was hard to draw conclusions from such a diversity of vineyards around the region, especially when our sub-regions are so variable. However, the difficulty of growing a young, replacement vine within an existing mature block continues to be a challenge across every aspect of vineyard management. Stepping back a bit to look at new vineyard developments planted in 2016, it was not an easy growing season. Cold weather and high winds were challenging across all of Marlborough. Broken posts and varied levels of growth were the subject of many conversations. Even the best vineyard managers were concerned about new developments not being as uniform as in previous years, especially in pockets where blocks were more exposed to high winds. We noticed that growers who used taller (900mm) vine guards had less variation with their new developments. One can only assume this is because the new plants had more protection from the wind. The few weeks preceding the main harvest period assuaged the concerns of many growers, as the plants bolted to catch up once the winds died down and the warm weather appeared. 4 / Winepress April 2017
On par with new developments, blocks that were fully or partially replanted also struggled in this colder, windier season. Coupled with the weather, these vines faced a double bladed sword of also being vulnerable to whatever conditions were left under the ground from the previous vines. In March, we saw replanted blocks that completely surpassed all expectations and thrived, and other blocks where even in the best site conditions we were surprised that the vines managed to survive with so much weed competition, poor soil preparation and lack of management. The performance of a replanted block is in direct proportion to how much time and attention it is given. Consider how much time you have before you begin a replant, and plan accordingly. Young vine management requires time and attention to detail. If you do not have either, it is best to have a plan B or to rethink a replant. A good plan B could be to take your replanting plan down to a more manageable size, or to hire someone to look after your young vines if you don’t have the time. Young vines planted to replace
dead or diseased vines within a vineyard always struggle. HI-STEM™ tall vines struggle too. There is no golden ticket to fixing this. When an older vine dies or suffers from trunk disease, the root systems of the adjacent vines fill in the space. This is invisible unless you dig beneath the soil. A young, certified, bare rooted vine from any nursery will struggle in these conditions - it simply cannot compete. Often times the dripper is not perfectly aligned with the freshly planted young vine, and the water that the one-year-old vine desperately requires goes towards the overbearing root system of the adjacent neighbour. Such a poor start in life is also coupled with managers who have little to no time to care for individual young vines planted sporadically throughout a large vineyard. Most
