Grapevine Pruning Manual for the Prevention of Trunk Disease

In 2008 François Dal, with his colleagues at the renowned enological lab SICAVAC* in Sancerre, published their groundbreaking research on the cause of vine trunk disease. Pruning practice, it turns out, not fungal infection, was the culprit of necrosis. After a decade of experimentation and further research Dal and the SICAVAC released, in French, a vineyard manual based on its findings. Grapevine Pruning Manual for the Prevention of Trunk Disease is the translation of this seminal work and for the first time offers English readers a comprehensive account of Dal’s theory and a practical handbook of pruning techniques based on it. Dal begins with an overview of the most common and deadly vine diseases, such as Esca and Eutypiose “Dead Arm” diseases, and the underlying concepts of how pruning leads to necrosis and fungal infection. With this in mind, the Manual guides the reader, with rich, full color illustrations, in the prescribed pruning techniques proven to increase sap flow and avoid the onset of tissue destruction. The different cordon styles are dealt with relative to their influence on disease spread, and there are expanded sections on shoot thinning, how to examine the quality of grafted vines, and strategies for saving and rehabilitating sick vines.