Mechanical pruning research at the Cornell Vineyard Laboratory in Fredonia, New York shows how Concord producers can decrease production costs and stay competitive in the juice-grape market. Research on mechanical mid-season crop adjustment gives producers a method of estimating and adjusting their crop size in July to improve final fruit quality in September and October.

Concord and Niagara grape production make up nearly 80 percent of the total grape production in New York state. A national surplus in bulk grape juice has decreased the market price paid for these New York varieties, while labor costs have continued to increase. Producers need management strategies to decrease production costs to stay competitive under these economic pressures.

Winter grapevine pruning is a necessary vineyard practice to control crop size and improve final fruit quality. However, pruning is also the most costly vineyard activity, because it is labor-intensive. Viticulture research in western New York has evaluated the use of mechanical winter pruning and mechanical mid-season crop adjustment both to decrease labor costs and to increase juice quality in Concord vineyards.

Economic analysis comparing manual pruning with mechanical pruning shows that a 100-acre Concord producer can save approximately $15,000 per year with mechanical pruning. This savings would pay for the initial cost of the machine in two years. It is estimated that approximately ten percent of the western New York grape acreage has adopted mechanical pruning, and this value increases each year. Mechanical crop adjustment made a large economic impact in 2003 when high crop set and poor weather threatened poor juice quality. Cornell research showed producers how to mechanically estimate and reduce their crops in the middle of the summer to achieve higher juice quality at harvest.

• Hans Walter-Peterson (Lake Erie Grape Program - extension)
• Rick Dunst (Fredonia Vineyard Lab)
• Justin Morris (Arkansas State University)
• Bob and Dawn Betts (Concord grape producers)
• Dave Vercant (Concord grape producer)