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Water supply should be ensured in vineyards during period of active

growth and berry development stages. Irrigation should be given to

field capacity.

During establishment period of vines after planting, frequent

irrigation during dry months may be required. Watering immediately

after pruning and fertilizer application should be done without fail.

Irrigation

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Irrigation at an interval of 5-7 days during initial berry development

stage till they become pea size and at 10 days interval till maturity is

better for good yields.

Watering should be withheld from 25-30 days prior to harvesting to

ensure quality of produce.

Quality of irrigation water is also important.

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Excess salt content in irrigation water, with EC

value of more than one causes injury to vines.

Irrigate vines immediately after planting. Vine water use is very low in

the first 6 to 8 weeks, but the vines have a small root system that

should be kept moist.

Initially vine growth (including root growth) is supported by stored

carbohydrates in the cutting/rootling.

Phosphoric acid and dry potassic fertilizer such as sulphate of potash

can be used as sources of P20S and K20 for application through irrigation

systems.

Numerous formulations containing two or more nutrients are available

for fertigation. About 30% saving in quantity of fertilizers can be achieved

through this technique.

Establishment phase

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Application of fertilizers through irrigation system, fertigation, has

been tried in grapes also.

Drip irrigation system is ideal for fertigation and only soluble salts

are applied through irrigation system to prevent clogging of

emitters.

Urea is widely used for fertigation since it readily dissolves in

water. Improved yields by applying 300 kg urea/ha for 60 days

after October pruning at 5 kg/ha/ day.

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The soil should be kept moist to promote further root growth. If

the soil becomes too wet, root growth will be inhibited. In most soil

types this means applying small amounts of water daily for the first

few weeks then less often.

To ensure the moisture of the soil is at an optimum install soil

moisture monitoring devices (e.g. tensiometers). Maintain the soil

moisture tension in the vines root zone between 10 and 60

centibars.

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• The aim is to maximise vine growth in years 1 to 3. Maintaining moist

soil throughout the growing season will help to achieve this.

• Soil moisture can be maintained by adjusting irrigation according to

soil moisture readings (e.g. tensiometers or gypsum blocks).

• Soil moisture should be maintained between 10 and 60 centibars.

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Maintaining soils in the readily available moisture range will maximise

yield throughout the growth cycle of the vines.

Irrigation techniques such as RDI and PRD can also be used to

manage vine growth and to manipulate fruit quality and yield.

Grape is a shallow feeder. Light and frequent watering is better for

grapes.

Water requirement of grape are very high during berry growth.

This period coinciding with hot and dry weather, more water is required

at this stage.

Least water is required during fruit-bud formation. This period if

coincides with cloudy weather and rains, watering are totally to be

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Currently due to the shortage of water, grapes are irrigated through drips.

The number of drippers/vine and their placement are very crucial in drip

irrigation. The active feeder root zone is to be wetted by the water

discharged through the emitters.

Reduced irrigation during ripening, i.e. (one month prior to

harvesting) improve the quality of grapes and hastens ripening. Too

much stress during ripening can also increase the berry drop at and after

harvesting.

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Since the wetted pattern is more horizontal than vertical in clay soils

but more vertical than horizontal in sandy soils, more emitters with

low discharge rate for longer duration are advisable to get good

results with drip irrigation in sandy soils.

Inadequate wetting of root zone reduces shoot vigour and

weakens the vines. Gradually they develop deadwood and go

barren 7-8 years after planting.

The quantity of water to let through drip irrigation daily depends

not only on the stage of growth of the vine but also the evapo-

transpiration in a vineyard.

Putting these two factors together the water requirement of

grapes through drips is given in Table3.

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Stage of growth Water required / ha

(litres/day)

1-40 days after summer pruning  48,000-60,000

41-100 days after summer pruning  24,000-32,000

101 days after summer pruning to

winter pruning

15,000-20,000

1-45 days after winter pruning   20,000-24,000

46-75 days after winter pruning  16,000-20,000

76-100 days after winter pruning   48,000-60,000

111 days after winter pruning until

harvesting

36,000-48,000

After harvesting untill summer pruning  20,000-24,000

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Grape is sensitive to chlorides and total salts content in irrigation

water.

Water with electrical conductivity of less than 1mmhos/cm, chlorides

less than 4m.e/litre, sodium adsorption ratio less than 8.0, residual

sodium carbonate less than 1.25 m.e/litre and boron less than 1.0

mg/kg is considered safe for irrigation grapes.

Raising a bund of loose soil to a height of 1’ along the vine rows

and mulching the soil around the drip zone by sugarcane trash or

paddy straw can conserve the soil moisture and save irrigation

water.

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1. Water saving to the extent of 60 % as compared to traditional surface

irrigation method

2. High water application efficiency

3. Increase in the yield to the extent of 25 - 30 % over traditional irrigation

methods.

4. Use of water soluble fertilizer, very high FUE with fertilizer saving to the

extent of 25 to 30% Use of saline water is possible

5. Reducing inter-culturing and weeding cost

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6. Excellent soil health and maximum soil microbiological activities

Saving in labour cost, due to atomization

7. Excellent and cost effective for horticultural crops - widely spaced,

low cost and long duration crop.

8. Adoptable for undulating topography, variable soil types and all

crops

9. Adoptable for undulating topography, variable soil types and all

crops.

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1. High initial cost due to solid system

2. Skilled man-power is required for design, operation and

maintenance

3. Availability of electricity as system is to operate daily or alternate

day deposits

4. The problem of clogging of emitters due to physical impurities,

chemical and biological residues of bacteria and algae

5. Periodical maintenance such as cleaning of filters, flushing of piping

network and pressure regulation in the system

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6. Treatment of back water flush system, (Sand filter cleaning),

acidification (Chemical clogging) and chlorination removal of algae

and bacteria are tedious and time consuming .

7. Breaking of lateral pipes due to cultural operation, rats and other

animal troubles

In spite of the above limitations and some problems the

micro-irrigation system has proved to be the best system

amongst all irrigation methods.

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