Pruning

The removal of living canes, shoots, leaves, and other vegetative growth from the vine. Pruning begins this time of year when the plant is dormant (and thus less susceptible to diseases that could infiltrate the vine via the pruning wounds). How a vine is pruned affects how the vine will grow in the following year. Thus, pruning can be used to regulate the size and quality of the next year’s crop. Pruning is usually done by hand with shears, but mechanical pruners also exist and are used in large vineyards in some parts of the world, notably Australia.