Madeline Wimmer- Fruit Production educator
Introduction
Whether you’re working on a new vineyard block, elongating cordons for further established vines, or replacing winter-injured or declining cordons, tying down canes to fruiting wire is a regular vineyard task. The process is fairly simple, and below are a few tips and answers to common questions to ensure your success!
Images:
Left: A Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) trained grapevine with a permanent cordon on one side, and a cane tied down on the other to replace a cordon.
Right: A grapevine cane with newly swelling buds (primary and secondary) developing (upper right). A grapevine cane that is being tied down to elongate the short, already-established cordon (lower right).
Images:
Why is it necessary to secure canes to the fruiting wire?
Without any support, the cordons (i.e., the arms of the grapevine) would collapse from the weight of the fruit. This is true even if cordons seem to be supported by the fruiting wire without any ties; as the season goes on and clusters begin to grow and ripen, the weight of the fruit will weigh the cordons down and can pull them off the wire.Can I wrap canes around the wire to secure them?
While canes can temporarily be wrapped to a wire, they should eventually be unwrapped and tied down as wrapping can lead to girdling and harm the cordons (see images below).Images:
Left: When grapevine canes are initially wrapped around a wire, it may seem harmless, but over time, as the wood grows larger, it can fuse around the wire and cause girdling, which can be difficult to remove later on.
Right: Girdling can also happen when ties are too tight, or removed too late. The start of girdling can be seen here on this grapevine trunk that had been secured with AgTye®.
Securing canes after bud swell:
When grapevines are fully dormant, the buds are small, compact, and can tolerate some amount of rubbing without falling off. As the buds begin to swell, they more easily rub off.Losing a single bud may not seem like a big deal, but for canes that are being trained to become cordons, losing a single bud means losing a spur and creates blind wood between spurs.
We recommend tying down canes before bud swell begins, but if there are no other options, just be careful while handling canes.
Images: There are a number of different supplies that can be used to secure canes to the fruiting wire. Finding something that can expand as the vine grows is important. Seen here is Tapener™ (upper left), rubber ties (upper right), and AgTye® (lower middle).
Tapener™ : Tapener™ is a multi-purpose tool that uses tie tape—a lightweight plastic ribbon bound by a staple. It can be used to secure grapevine shoots to trellis wires, as well as to train canes that will become trunks or cordons. While it will not greatly expand as the vine grows, it will usually break and fall off when a vine is too big, rather than cause issues with girdling.
Rubber ties: Sometimes referred to as “T-bands,” rubber ties are like a rubber band with a T-hook that can be wrapped around a cane and the wire, and hooked on the T for securing. These ties come in different sizes, and can easily be removed and reused. They grow with the vines as they stretch, but still may need to be replaced on large, older wood after a number of years.
Stretchable tube ties: These can be cut to length, and, unlike twine, can also stretch with grapevines as they grow. Tube ties tend to degrade over time and may need to eventually be replaced.
AgTye® : Not to be confused with the more-rigid “Ag-Lock,” these AgTye® can be used to secure new canes to the fruiting wire. AgTye® lasts a long time and can be reused, but it can still cause girdling if not removed before the wood girth grows too large.
Cordon – A permanent, or semi-permanent, horizontal “arm” trained along the fruiting wire. Cordons support spurs where fruit is produced each year on spur-pruned grapevine systems.
Fruiting wire – The horizontal wire on a trellis where cordons or canes are secured. This is the main support for fruit-bearing parts of the vine, and is usually a thicker gauge than training wires or catchwires, for example.
Spur – A short section of a cane that remains after pruning, usually with 1–4 buds.
Bud swell – The stage in early spring when grapevine buds begin to develop. Buds in this stage are more vulnerable to damage from rubbing or breakage.
Girdling – A condition where a grapevine’s trunk or other anatomy becomes constricted by an object like a tie, or wire, which impacts nutrient and water flow throughout the vine. This can lead to damage overtime. Blind wood – Sections of a cane or cordon without buds or growth points, often resulting from damaged or missing buds.
We recommend tying down canes before bud swell begins, but if there are no other options, just be careful while handling canes.
Images: There are a number of different supplies that can be used to secure canes to the fruiting wire. Finding something that can expand as the vine grows is important. Seen here is Tapener™ (upper left), rubber ties (upper right), and AgTye® (lower middle).
Supplies: does it matter what you use?
There are a number of different options for tying down new canes. Look for something that can easily be removed and expands with the growth of the grapevine. Avoid twine, for example, which is inexpensive and can cut to any length, but it cannot expand as the canes mature and can lead to girdling if not removed in time.Tapener™ : Tapener™ is a multi-purpose tool that uses tie tape—a lightweight plastic ribbon bound by a staple. It can be used to secure grapevine shoots to trellis wires, as well as to train canes that will become trunks or cordons. While it will not greatly expand as the vine grows, it will usually break and fall off when a vine is too big, rather than cause issues with girdling.
Rubber ties: Sometimes referred to as “T-bands,” rubber ties are like a rubber band with a T-hook that can be wrapped around a cane and the wire, and hooked on the T for securing. These ties come in different sizes, and can easily be removed and reused. They grow with the vines as they stretch, but still may need to be replaced on large, older wood after a number of years.
Stretchable tube ties: These can be cut to length, and, unlike twine, can also stretch with grapevines as they grow. Tube ties tend to degrade over time and may need to eventually be replaced.
AgTye® : Not to be confused with the more-rigid “Ag-Lock,” these AgTye® can be used to secure new canes to the fruiting wire. AgTye® lasts a long time and can be reused, but it can still cause girdling if not removed before the wood girth grows too large.
Steps for tying down canes:
- Once you have your cane selected to become your cordon, start by “cleaning up” the cane by removing any lateral shoots and tendrils.
- If the cane is very long, cut it back so it meets its neighboring vine’s cordon at the halfway point between the two vines. If the tip of a cane is very weak, cut it back until the wood is a little larger than pencil-sized. When laying down canes to elongate an already-existing cordon, you may want to only expand about 1 ft of cordon at a time to ensure you're only using quality material.
- Lay the cane onto the fruiting wire, adjusting it to follow its natural form.
- Secure the cane in three spots: 1) close the trunk, 2) in the middle, and 3) close to the cane tip.
More tips for success:
- Monitor ties on grapevines as they continue to grow in girth to see if any older supplies need to be replaced or removed.
- Do not secure them too tightly, but rather, leave some space so it's slightly loose to allow canes to thicken each year without maxing out their space. Note: This is less important for using Tapener™ and rubber ties, which expand more or fall off after a number of years. (Similarly, avoid double wrapping a grapevine cane as this is unnecessary and more likely to cause girdling problems.)
- If you need to pull a cane through a set of catch wires to position it to the fruiting wire, take extra care if buds are swelling, as rubbing during threading can easily knock them off.
Vocabulary for this article:
Cane – A woody, one-year-old shoot that has matured after one growing season. Canes are the building blocks of grapevines used to create spurs, cordons, and trunks.Cordon – A permanent, or semi-permanent, horizontal “arm” trained along the fruiting wire. Cordons support spurs where fruit is produced each year on spur-pruned grapevine systems.
Fruiting wire – The horizontal wire on a trellis where cordons or canes are secured. This is the main support for fruit-bearing parts of the vine, and is usually a thicker gauge than training wires or catchwires, for example.
Spur – A short section of a cane that remains after pruning, usually with 1–4 buds.
Bud swell – The stage in early spring when grapevine buds begin to develop. Buds in this stage are more vulnerable to damage from rubbing or breakage.
Girdling – A condition where a grapevine’s trunk or other anatomy becomes constricted by an object like a tie, or wire, which impacts nutrient and water flow throughout the vine. This can lead to damage overtime. Blind wood – Sections of a cane or cordon without buds or growth points, often resulting from damaged or missing buds.
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