Manual of techniques for sustainable mountain viticulture Josep Lluís Pérez Verdú

closer together leads to a more uniform distribution of the shoots. The vine is a liana plant (climber,

creeper) and tends to develop larger and denser shoots on the production branch (furthest away from

the trunk). If the stock is close together, this effect has a smaller impact. 

With stock 0.5 m apart and applying the form of control developed by Mas Martinet and irrigation, the

vineyard can complete development of the entire production line during the third year. In general, it

was concluded that the increase in production obtained by bringing forwards architecture formation

easily offsets the greater investment in the plantation. 

In double vine training with stock at a distance of 0.5 m, the length of the production branch is 1 m. If

shoots are left every 7 cm, 14 shoots would be possible and, therefore, the stock should reach a vigour

of around 700 g (45-55 g/shoot). This would be achieved by irrigation (and fertilisation) to offset any

bad weather and soil problems that might exist. Hence, the required vigour would be distributed opti-

mally among the shoots. Bearing in mind that the ELA of a shoot is 0.14 m

2

and with production for an

initial vintage wine of 0.6 kg/m

2

ELA (see Section 3.5), theoretic production of a stock would be: 

14 shoots/stock x 0.14 m

2

ELA/shoot x 0.6 kg/m

2

ELA = 1.18 kg/stock

If the rows of stock are 2.5 m apart, there would be 8,000 stock per ha (10,000/2.5/0.5) and produc-

tion would be 9,440 kg/ha (8,000*1.18). If the distance between rows is reduced to 2 m, as work with

smaller tractors is then possible, the theoretic production capacity would reach 11,800 kg/ha.

Chart 3.1 Impact of the distance between stock on the formation of the plant’s architecture. Double vine training

Distance between stock

on the same row

m

1.5

1

0.5

Stock production

arm

m

3

2

1

Production arm formed

over 3 years

%

45

75

100

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On an estate with thousands of vines, not all will reach the required vigour at the same time and cul-

tivation practices must be adapted until this is achieved. In other words, 100% of the production

branch will have been developed by the third year, although longer will be needed to reach the theo-

retic production of the vineyard. 

In practice, some vines are not feasible or do not reach the vigour required by the maximum plant

architecture. In other cases, the distribution of heads and buds does not allow a shoot to be left an

average of every 7 cm and vigour must be limited. Furthermore, to make cultivation work easier, the

vigour of all stock is normally equalled in each of the areas into which the vineyard can be divided. In

view of this, real production is normally between 60% and 80% theoretic production, theoretic

being considered as that corresponding to the ELA resulting from leaving a shoot every 7 cm. 

To conclude, when vigour control techniques are applied, the plantation framework is determined

using three criteria: 

•

High ELA/RSV ratio.

•

Speed in obtaining the target production (in quantity and quality).

•

Passing of machinery.

In general, the Mas Martinet techniques require high plantation density (first two criteria) compatible

with the passing of machinery that should specifically be small (1 m wide tractor). 

3.5. Stock clearing

Grape production with a sufficient concentration for a wine to keep depends on the effective leaf area,

which determines the stock’s capacity to synthesise sugars for ripening. 

Mas Martinet experiments show that target production with vigour distribution is placed between 0.5

and 0.9 kg of grape per m

2

of ELA. For a first wine, production must be close to the lower limit and, in

the case of a second wine, the top limit will be used. Young wines would accept a higher limit. 

However, these values are a reference based on experimental trials and do not yet respond to suffi-

cient scientific evidence. Some important questions still stand in relation to the quality of the polyphe-

nols and the aromas and to the likely alcohol content. 

Experiments and studies on these matters will have to continue over forthcoming years. 

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2

Using vigour control techniques, the average is estimated at between 0.7 and 0.9 bunches per shoot. 

What is considered sufficiently verified is that the group of vigour control techniques is effective in

sugar synthesis and, therefore, production per m

2

of ELA may be somewhat higher than in a conven-

tional plantation. 

It must be underlined that this production of between 0.5 and 0.9 kg/m

2

ELA may be obtained in the

shape of large, compact grapes or small, loose grapes. The morphology does not depend on stock

production but on the diameter of the shoot, which adapts by distributing the vigour between a lar-

ger or smaller number of productive shoots. Other architectures, such as the Lyra vine, are designed

to increase ELA and with it production, although without influencing grape morphology. 

With Mas Martinet architecture, each stock has a larger number of shoots and, therefore, produces a

greater amount of grapes. To adapt production of between 0.5 and 0.9 kg/m

2

ELA, stock clearing is of

greater significance here than in other architectures (Figure 3.10). The following depends on clearing: 

•

To reach the required ripeness of the grape berries (concentration, likely alcohol content). 

•

After harvesting, to keep enough reserves to restart growth the following year. 

The weight range of one grape produced using vigour control techniques is known for each different

variety. Using this weight, the number of grapes to be left on each vine

2

in order to respect production

per unit of ELA can be calculated.

Figure 3.10 Clearing is essential

with vigour control techniques 

Clearing

A lot of grapes 

A lot of shoots 

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