A good 3/4 of my 2nd year vinifera have been damaged by cane girdlers. Really sucks because it's an obvious setback to see a thriving cane get cut back. Anyone have any experience with this situation? Can I still expect these canes to easily reach a 54 inch wire this season, and then some? I do see that the node, below where I snipped off the damage, is thriving. Ken
Ken,
On a young vine the damage done by grape cane girdlers is alarming, but I've never had a vine succumb. Just snap off the egg carrying portion, down to the lowermost girdle, and burn or otherwise destroy. The vines will pop axial buds from the next one or two node. After a few weeks, when the danger of further girdling is past, you can remove the lower sprouts and leave the uppermost as a leader. There's every likelihood that you'll get to the wire.
My vineyard is small enough to where I can do as you suggest. I'm hoping that by removing what eggs I can find, I might actually be able to have an impact on next year's population. But that might just be wishful thinking. Ken
Ken,
By mid July you'll be looking back and saying why was I even worried when your using a machette to control your vines. I don't even give the vines a second look when I see cane girdler damage. Don't worry about it.
Bob
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.