Grapes Farming

  Grapes Farming

Introduction :

Grapes (Vitis vinifera) belonging to the Vitaceae family, originated in Western Asia and Europe. It was introduced to India by the Persian invaders in 1300 A. D. Grapes is a non-climacteric fruit that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody climbing vine. Grapes is a cross pollinated vine with simple, lobed, cut or toothed leaves (seldom compound) with racemes of greenish flowers, the fruit consisting of watery or fleshy pulp, stones and skin, four-seeded. Grapes can be eaten as fresh or used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts and grape seed oil. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. However, in India, 90% of the grape is used for table purpose, even though wine making has made strides. The rest of the grape is used mostly for raisin
               Grape cultivation is one of the most remunerative farming enterprises in India. Famous Indian medicine scholars, Sasruta and Charaka in their medical treatises entitled ‘Sasruta Samhita’ and ‘Charaka Samhita’, respectively, written during 1356-1220 BC, mentioned the medicinal properties of grapes. Kautilya in his ‘Arthashastra’ written in the fourth century BC mentioned the type of land suitable for grape cultivation. Native spp. resembling Vitis lanata and Vitis palmata grow wild in the northwestern Himalayan foothills. Indigenous varieties known as ‘Rangspay’, ‘Shonltu White’ and ‘Shonltu Red’ are grown in Himachal Pradesh even today.

 Regions of Cultivation :

Grape is grown under a variety of soil and climatic conditions in three distinct agro-climatic zones, namely, sub-tropical, hot tropical and mild tropical climatic regions in India.
Sub-tropical Region: This region covers the northwestern plains corresponding to 28° and 32° N latitude including Delhi; Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh; Hissar and Jind districts of Haryana; and Bhatinda, Ferozpur, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana districts of Punjab. Vines undergo dormancy and bud break starts in the first week of March while the rains arrive in the first week of June, and therefore, only 90-95 days are available from the initiation of growth to harvest. Consequently, ‘Perlette’ is the only early ripening variety grown in this region. Rain damage is a problem with Thompson Seedless in this region. Single pruning and a single harvest is the accepted practice here.
Hot Tropical Region: This region covers Nashik, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Satara, Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra; Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar, Anantapur and Medak districts of Andhra Pradesh; and Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Gulberga districts of northern Karnataka lying between 15° and 20° N latitude. This is the major viticulture region accounting for 70 percent of the area under grapes in the country. Vines do not undergo dormancy and double pruning and a single harvest is the general practice in this region. Maximum and minimum temperature is 42°C and 8°C, respectively. The major problems in this region are soil and water salinity and drought. Berry growth is impaired and in certain locations pink blush sometimes develops on green berries due to temperatures that drop to a low of 8°C. Thompson Seedless and its clones (Tas-A-Ganesh, Sonaka), Anab-e-Shahi, Sharad Seedless and Flame Seedless are the varieties grown in this region.
Mild Tropical Region: An area covered by 10° and 15° N latitude including Bangalore and Kolar districts of Karnataka; Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and Coimbatore; and Madurai and Theni districts of Tamil Nadu fall in this region. Maximum temperatures in a year seldom exceed 36°C, while the minimum is about 12°C. Principal varieties are Bangalore Blue (Syn. Isabella), Anab-e-Shahi, Gulabi (Syn. Muscat Hamburg), and Bhokri. Thompson Seedless is grown only with limited success. Except for Thompson Seedless, two crops are harvested in a year.

Soil :   

Although grape can adapt to a variety of soils, it grows and performs best in deep medium-textured soils (loams and sandy loams) with good drainage and low salt content. Salinity is the major hindrance in the development of grapes. It grows well in soils with a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5. 

Climate:

The climatic factors such as temperature, occurrence of frost, rainfall and relative humidity play a vital role for commercial cultivation of grape. Generally grape requires a hot and dry climate. Regions with high rainfall and humidity is not conducive for grape cultivation. Hence the coastal districts of the state are not suitable for grape production. Grape is successfully grown in regions of Maharashtra with a temperature range of 150C to 400C and rainfall of 50 to 60 cm. The weather should be clear for about 3-4 months during the cropping period. Cloudy weather, high humidity low temperature and rain during flowering and berry development are detrimental as they promote spread of diseases.

Spacing :

Spacing varies with variety and soil fertility. Generally under organic cultivation, spacing of 2.5 m x 1.5 m, 2.75 m x 1.50 m and 3.0 m x 1.5 m are followed. For this model scheme, a spacing of 2.75 m x 1.50 m with a plant population of 2425 plants/ha is considered.

 Land preparation :

The land is prepared by ploughing it twice and harrowing it thrice.

 Planting :

Pits of 90 cm x 90 cm x 90 cm are dug and filled with soil and well decomposed FYM/Compost @ 55 t/ha. The pits are then irrigated in order to allow the soil to settle. Rectangular system of planting is adopted for growing grape.