October 2022 - 13
An evaluation seeks to confirm that winegrape quality and yield are improved significantly and would allow for successful production in regions that have less-than-ideal
growing environments. Photos: Gary Pullano
High tunnel grapes thrive in
tough locations
By Gary Pullano
Senior Correspondent
Researchers are pursuing a project
initiated during a 2018 Michigan State Ag
Innovations Day to evaluate the potential
for high tunnel warm-season winegrape
cultivar plantings.
The goal is to confirm that winegrape
quality and yield are improved significantly
and would allow for successful production
in regions that have less-than-ideal
growing environments.
A July 27 presentation at the 2022
Viticulture Field Day at MSU's
Southwest Michigan Research and
Extension Center (SWMREC) in Benton
Harbor, Michigan, was given by tree
fruit specialist Greg Lang.
The tunnels are 24- by 200-feet each.
Tunnels 5 and 7 were planted in spring
2018 to 12 vines each of Malbec, Merlot,
Syrah and Teroldego, and 24 vines of
Cabernet Sauvignon. Tunnel 5 is covered
from late spring through early fall; Tunnel
7 has always been open. Vine spacing is 7.5
by eight feet (about 725 vines per acre).
" At the end of the first year, it was
night-and-day difference, " Lang said of the
tunneled and non-tunneled comparison.
" It was so much better the way the fruit
and the vines grow under the tunnel, the
same way we've seen everything else we've
ever grown in tunnels. What we'd also like
to do in the future is figure out what light
transmission properties would optimize
our photosynthesis and our phenolic
development and everything.
" The interesting thing coming out
of that winter of 2019 is we had a lot of
winter kill in the Malbec and Syrah, "
he said. " We only had one vine survive
out of 12 in each of those two varieties
outside. The tunnel is uncovered in the
winter so the vines were exposed to the
same winter conditions but they were just
so much healthier going into the winter,
with more carbohydrate reserves, that
sort of thing. They came through really
See TUNNELS, page 14
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October 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2022
October 2022 - 1
October 2022 - 2
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