Professional Documents
Culture Documents
in China's Viticulture
GUOGUANG
LUO 1
The dragon training system is one of the two main systems for growing grapevines in China. The vine is trained
to single or multiple cordons branching just above the ground onto a sloping or horizontal arbor (with wire netting) about 2 m in height. Total length of the permanent vine structure varies averaging from 4 to 10 m. Each cordon or "dragon body" bears consecutive spur positions or "dragon claws" consisting of 1 to 3 bud spurs 10 to 30
cm apart. The "dragons" lie parallel on the arbor approximately 50 cm apart. The advantages of this system are:
1) comparatively easy training, pruning, and high productivity during early years after planting (15- 30 t/ha yield
can be achieved by the fourth or fifth year); 2) good adaptability to macroclimatic conditions in northern China,
where it is usually necessary to bury fruiting wood to survive winters; 3) extensive coverage of the ground surface area with good exposure of foliage to sunlight; and 4) efficient control of vine capacity by shoot removal,
cluster thinning, and other cultural practices. The procedures of training dragon-trained vines are described as
well as the disadvantages and problems of this system compared to other systems used in China.
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C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the D r a g o n S y s t e m
Basic structures: A typical dragon-trained vine
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152
Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986
and fruiting.
In vineyards with the dragon system of training,
especially in dense plantings, the cordons extend from
one row to another, covering the space between rows with
approximately 50 cm between cordons.
Dragon training systems have been successfully used
with Longyan (Dragon Eyes), Niunai (Cow's Nipples),
Meiguixiang (Muscat Hamburg), Kyoho, Beichun, and
other cultivars.
Productivity: Depending on growing conditions and
management practices, there is great variation in produc-
tivity using the dragon system. In dry, hilly areas, nonirrigated vineyards usually produce 3 to 5 t/ha, in part
due to the low planting density (only 300 - 400 vines/ha)
where vines are often interplanted with annual crops.
However, the dragon system can give fairly high production and good quality when fertilization and irrigation are
used. Many vineyards in Hebei and Liaoning Provinces
yield about 30 t/ha. In Zhangjiakou Prefecture thousands
of acres of new vineyards have been planted using cuttings. The vines enter into production in the third year
after planting, yielding from 3 to 7.5 t/ha.
SECOND YEAR:
A LONGCANE IS LEFT
AFTER WINTER PRUNING
TO FORMYOUNGDRAGON
BODY,
--~.
p
4-6 M
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THIRD YEAR:
THE YOUNGVINE ENTERS INTO
BEARING, ALL MATURED
SHOOTS ARE PRUNEDTO 1-2
BUD SPURS, EXCEPTAPICAL
CANE IS LEFT LONG,
FOURTH YEAR:
YIELD INCREASES MARKEDLY,
DRAGON BODYOR MAIN CORDON
HAS BEEN FORMEDAND DRAGON
CLAWS OR ARM POSITIONS
CONTINUE TO BE DEVELOPED,
Procedure of Vine
Training and Pruning
The objective in training to the dragon system is to
develop one, two, or three main cordons (dragon bodies)
and form on each a set of fruiting units or arms (dragon
claws). The procedure for the single-dragon system is as
follows (Fig. 6).
First year - Planting: Well-matured hardwood cuttings, usually with three buds, or one-year-old rootings
are planted in spring. One well-developed shoot is left on
each vine and pinched three to four times during the
growing season to strengthen the shoot. The shoot diameter should be about 1 cm by fall. All shoots are then
pruned back to one to two buds at the end of the growing
season before being covered with earth for overwintering.
Second year - Developing the main stem: One
normal shoot is selected for optimum position and tied up
155
Pruning method
2.
Trellising system
3.
4.
Budload
% Budbreak
5.
6.
% Fruiting shoots
Fruit Quality
7.
Yield
8.
Winter protection
Dragon training
Fan training
Relatively constant.
Higher, may be uneven along very long
dragon bodies.
Usually lower.
Clusters are more uniform, compact and
heavy.
More regular, variable with vineyards, may
be as high as 20-30 t/ha.
Often difficult to bury with earth due to
strong dragon bodies.
More difficult.
76
Spur-pruned vines
20
8.0
4.5
665.2
5.5
1.75
376.8
12.9
10.9
131.2
18.7
15.4
172
61
142
240
780
Higher.
Clusters are often loose with non-uniform
berries.
Easy to overcrop, variable with vineyards,
may be as high as 20-40 t/ha.
Easier to bury owing to thinner stems.
Much easier.
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0810'
1,8-2.2M
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Fig. 7. Single-dragon-trained vines on a vertical T-trellis (by
courtesy of Xiu Deren).
Conclusions
The dragon training system is one of the most
popular systems of vine training in northern China. It
may be thought of as a special type of cordon training
system for adapting grapevines to regions where vines
should be buried for safe overwintering.
The original single-dragon-trained vines with their
dragon bodies of 4 to 10 m or more in length are
supported by separate widely spaced arbors and have the
advantage of being suitable to hilly areas, but the grape
production per unit area is rather low due to low planting
density.
Under intensive cultivation, dragon-trained vines are
densely planted and supported by continuous sloping or
horizontal arbors. The recommended spacings are 1.0 to
1.5 5 to 7 m (with 1-2 more main stems per vine). To
ensure full yields, all dragon cordons should be welldistributed, extending parallel in one direction and per-
Literature Cited
1. Huang, H., G. Luo, Y. Oi, L. Liu, and K. Wang. Viticulture
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grapes in north China. Proc. 3rd Int. Symp. Grape Breed. pp 21-30
(1980).
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areas (Engl. trans., title in Chinese). Sci. Technol., Zhangjiakou 2:611 (1979).
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