This study aimed at tracking phenology, thermal demand and productivity of Niagara Branca, Niagara Rosada and Concord grapevines subjected to a dry pruning in winter and a green pruning in the end of spring, focused on obtaining two grapes harvests by vegetative cycle. The experiment was performed at Eldorado do Sul's Agronomic Experimental Station, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, during the 2007/2008 harvesting. The plants were subjected to two dates of pruning in winter (07/22/07 and 08/20/07), performed by means of a short pruning, and two green pruning dates (11/15/07 and 12/17/07), performed by pruning the shoot starting from the fourth bud above the last grape cluster. The grapevine phenological sub periods considered were the vegetative, ranging from the pruning to sprouting and from the sprouting to flowering; and the reproductive, ranging from flowering to harvesting. Such ranges were monitored based on the degree-day accumulation. The grapevine production, total soluble solids and total titratable acidity were evaluated for the two crops. Results showed that all cultivars need around 1500 degree-days to complete their cycle, for both harvests. Early winter pruning increased the duration of the phenological cycle of plants compared to pruning performed in August due to the increased phenological subperiod pruning/flowering on the grapevines with early pruning. The anticipation of the winter pruning allowed advancing the first harvest, producing early grapes with higher market value. The phenological cycle of the second harvest was shorter than the first harvest due to higher temperatures during development of plants on the green pruning. The combination between winter pruning in August and green pruning in November was the most effective to obtain a second harvest in the same grapevine vegetative cycle. Plants subjected to green pruning provided a second harvest, between March/April, offering economic benefits to the producer and expanding the availability of fruit to consumers.
pruning management; sum-thermal; harvest period; Vitis labrusca
