Selection of planting stock for vineyards

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Vines can be multiplied by seeds or by buds. Seeds are used only in the origination of new varieties. Commercial vineyards consist of clonal varieties multiplied by buds, the only way in which vines of the desired variety can be obtained.

Growers propagate vines by means of “cuttings.” A vine cutting is a segment of mature one-year-old wood including one or more buds. The vine from which the cutting is taken is called the “mother vine” or “parent” and the vine which grows from the cutting, the “daughter vine” or “progeny.” Most grape growers and their advisers believe it is necessary for the best results to make a careful selection of the cuttings to be used for propagation. Some act upon this belief and choose a good healthy vineyard noted for the size and quality of its crop, avoiding vines which have borne few or poor grapes.

Reasons for Selection

The reasons for making this selection are to obtain a daughter vine (1) which will have the desirable qualities of the parent, and (2) which will develop rapidly.

These reasons are based on the beliefs (1) that a bud carries the qualities of the parent, and reproduces them in the offspring, and (2) that the ease and rapidity with which the bud grows depend on its size, maturity, food reserevs and other factors of condition as regards health, vigor and nourishment. While all observers concur in a general way in these beliefs and there is little uncertainty regarding the most favorable conditions for growth and the methods of determining and making use of them, there are some fundamental differences of view regarding the degree to which the characteristics of the parent vine are reproduced in the offspring.