2.3.6.g An alternative technique: vine braiding

What is braiding?

Braiding is an alternative technique to trimming which consists in making knots with the vine's branches or braiding the branches together. Braiding the vine redirects growth towards the ground, and reduces acrotonic growth in vines of low to medium vigour. It avoids the need to cut the tips off the branches and also branches growing too high and ending up bending under their own weight. Keeping the vine's tips avoids some compensation phenomena, reducing the growth of lateral shoots which are responsible for increasing the thickness of the foliage and decreasing ventilation around the bunches.

How does braiding work?

There are several ways of braiding. The first technique, which best corresponds to the name, consists of braiding or wrapping the vine around the top trellis wire and directing the tips of the branches downwards instead of upwards. It is also possible to create a further temporary trellis wire to allow the vegetation to grow better without too much crowding. This practice is suitable for all types of pruning techniques.

When is the best time to braid?

It is best to braid vines between the end of June and the beginning of July. For optimal braiding, it is advisable to wait until after the summer solstice, i.e. after 21 June.

Is it still necessary to do topping and/or leaf removal?

It is possible to carry out a topping towards the end of the growth period, in mid-August for example or even towards the end of August, when the tips of the vines have stopped growing. Young leaves are more sensitive to diseases like mildew. When the vines have finished growing, if the young leaves are affected, or even if they are not, a final trimming can improve their general health. In the same way, leaf removal may be beneficial during the summer to further ventilate the areas around the bunches.

Is the risk of disease increased?

When trimming is implemented, it can give rise to "compensation" phenomena. This means that the vine compensates for the trimming of the growth tips by growing new leaves and/or Lateral shoots. When these young shoots are present, they are more susceptible to external attack and are potential new sites for contamination. In addition, reducing the growth of lateral shoots improves ventilation around the bunches and reduces contamination risks. The risk of disease with braiding is thus not any greater in less vigorous vines.
When plots are very vigorous, braiding may not be sufficient to reduce the growth of lateral shoots. Increased surveillance and Lateral shoot removal are then advisable. Weather conditions remain the main risk factor in the development of cryptogamic diseases, whatever canopy management operations have been carried out.

How long does it take and how many people are required?

On average, it takes 20-22 hours/ha to braid vines, however, it can be even more for very vigorous vines. This corresponds to around 80 hours for an area of 4 hectares. At typical basic wages, braiding therefore costs about €320/ha. This operation can be combined with the final lifting of the trellis wires. The time per hectare then increases to around 30 hours/ha. This is a fairly time-consuming practice because, in addition to the extra time needed compared to mechanical trimming, braiding can make pulling the canes off the wires during winter pruning more difficult.

For small areas of vines, braiding can be very advantageous. If implemented on a permanent basis, it avoids the depreciation of topping equipment, which represents a significant cost. On the other hand, for larger vineyards, the depreciation costs are lower and the cost may be higher for braiding because more labour will be required.