Old Grape Vines Can JBe .

Old Grape Vines Can JBe .

Brought Back To • •• ■ .. • • ' • ? • ... . •: v - • . Production

Many old neglected grape vines in Virginia eould be brought back to productivity with fertilization And pruning, says Bruce Aroian, associate horticulturist at VPI.

Remarkable improvement usual- , ly can be seen the first year, but ' it may require tyro years to complete the job, Aroian says.

Here is his advice: ‘

Remove the tangled growth from its supports, cutting away obviously unwanted parts, and • spread it on the ground. Such a vine usually contains dead wood which should be removed. If the vine is reasonably vigorous, some of its older branches will be extremely long. From these branches the fruiting canes are produced at .intervals. Try to keep the fruiting wood as near to the trunk as possible. Cut the older branches back moderately the first year to a suitable fruiting cane. Leatre a renewal spur nearer the trunk so more of the old wood may be removed the following year. About six fruiting canes cut back to about eighht buds can be left, and the rest of the vine cut away. Often the old wood is so large that a saw is needed to remove it. . It is sometimes necessary to renew old vines where the trunk has become crooked and bent, and has perhaps deteriorated from disease. If the root is healthy, such renewal can usually be done by bringing a new shoot from near the ground. The old trunk may be removed at once, or may be left to fruit for one or two seasons until the new cane is ready to take its place. <

Train the new shoot up to‘the top wir& as rapidly as possible in the same manner as a newly planted vine. Remove any side shoots^— except those-needed for new arms •when they are not more than a few inches long.

Egg Price Drop MayContinue

The steady decline in egg prices, which has prevailed since midDecember, is expected to continue until spring, says D. U. Livermore, poultry marketing specialist, VPI.

However, the egg price outlook for 1951 is much improved over earlier predictions, he says,

Even with the mid-December . drop, the average price in Virginia t of 62.5 cents a dozen was 18.5 cents above a year earlier.

The number of layers in farm flocks, although declining seasonally, has dropped compared to last year at so rapid a rate that new estimates of egg prices and production-in 1971 will be necessary, Livermore says. The number of chicks be raised for flock replacements may also^increase with more favorable prices.

The new “outlook” for USDA, expected to be out in February, likely will view the situation in * light of the 4 per cent drop in - potential layers, reported January 1, Livermore believes. The reduction now in potential layers is twice that on which the earlier outlook was based.