The influence of roots length and compost quantity at plantation on graft growth cv. ‘Chardonnay’ in the first season

Abstract

Planting a vineyard is a long term and an expensive task. With an appropriate technology the first optimal yield should be available as soon as possible, returning the input investment money. A vineyard lifetime comes as the result of the planting material quality and of the complex technology measures, the planting techniques being the crucial ones. In 2001 we started an experiment with the grafts of cv. ‘Chardonnay’ planted in 4 different treatments: grafts with roots cut to two lengths (5 cm and 10 cm) and planted with none or with 0.5 kg of organic matter added to the planting hole. We have marked the treatments like: K (growth length 10 cm and 0.5 kg compost), D1 (growth length 3 cm and 0.5 kg compost), D2 (growth length 10 cm and 0 kg compost) and D3 (growth length 3 cm and 0 kg compost). We made three measures in two-months grafts growth. The root length and the organic matter influenced significant the shoot development in the first growing season. The utmost shoots developed on the grafts with longer roots and with no added organic matter at planting. The later finding should be explained with the characteristics of the organic matter and with its water supply capacity in this dry growing season.