Grape Trellis Usage & Guidelines

Grapevines, as with any type of vines, are not strong enough to support themselves.  As such, they need some form of support in order to grow as productive and as healthy as possible. To fulfill this need, the vines need to be trained onto a trellis – a structure that provides support for the growing vine. 

Grapes need sunlight in order to produce flowers which will develop into desirable grapes.  They will be more productive when exposed to the maximum amount of sunlight than if they are allowed to grow in shady conditions.  Plants need sunlight for photosynthesis, and in the leaves of grapes, it results in the production of sugars and other elements essential to the development of the best fruit. 

Constructed properly, trellises facilitate increase in vine size, structure and canopy management.  They make it easy to see what parts of the vines are in need of pruning and determine what clusters need to be removed in the cluster thinning process.

Fungal diseases hound grapevines.  They wreak havoc under stagnant, moist air conditions.  But with vines trained onto a trellis and coupled with proper canopy management, better airflow is established, thereby reducing exposure to fungal diseases; and because the fruit is not in direct contact with the soil, soil-born fruit rot is avoided.  It also makes it easier for them to be sprayed with fungicides and insecticides more thoroughly and evenly.

In addition, vines trained on a trellis accommodate better weed control under the plant as weeds can be sprayed with herbicides more effectively with less concern of herbicide damage to the vines.

Furthermore, harvesting the grapes is easier if the trellises used are appropriately well-designed and strong.  The trellis system to be used is mainly influenced the type of cultivars and by harvesting method to be employed. The trellis design for grapes to be harvested by machine is different from the one for grapes to be harvested by hand.