Phenology
Definition - What does Phenology mean?
In the context of viticulture, phenology is the study of the growth cycle of grape vines from season to season. Grape phenology considers all of the events that can affect a grapevine's stages of growth including: growing decisions, climate and soil conditions. Having an understanding of grapevine phenology allows vineyard managers to make decisions in the vineyard to improve the overall health and growth of vines.
WineFrog explains Phenology
The typical growth season of a vine is fairly short, from spring to late summer/early fall, so it is important that wine grape growers record the growing conditions that can affect each growth event. The growth cycle of a grape vine begins with the initiation of a growth event and completes with the full expression of its fruit.
When applying principles of phenology to grape vines, growers need to know the growth development stages of the vine, the climate and soil conditions that affect the vine and the effective practices they can employ to promote healthy growth and development. While grape phenology is the study of the growth cycle of the grape vine, it does include environmental influences such as soil type, and the climate in the region as well as growing practices, including; vine density, fertilization, rootstock managment, pest control, pruning and irrigation.
