My grapevine has developed no grapes?

[onetrack]

I'm at a loss to understand what has happened to my grapevine. A healthy-looking vine, that I pruned properly early last July - and which has always produced so much fruit, we (and the birds and the rats) could never eat it all - has not a single grape on it this year.

 

Normally by now, it would be loaded with growing little bunches. I've been here 33 years, and it has never failed to yield a shipload of grapes - but this year - absolutely nothing. I'm stunned, distraught and puzzled, all at the one time. Who knows what could have happened to my grape crop??

[old man emu]

Shouldn't this be in the Gripe thread?

[pmccarthy]

Grape, gripe, rape, ripe, let’s call the whole thing off.

[red750]

At least it's not tacked on to some other unrelated thread. Nev's a grape grower, he might have the answer.

[Litespeed]

I will be seeing a friend next week who is a viticulturist and wine maker.

 

I will ask her.

 

But yes Nev should know.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Litespeed

[facthunter]

Maybe frost  or some kind of insect problem or snails. I'd have to see it. If it didn't bear any fruit it will grow the  vine faster.. I've never seen such a thing happen to anyone. Nev

[old man emu]

If you are in an area with commercial vines, maybe you should report this to the local Government Agronomist. Hopefully you'll be baying at the moon, but early warning is essential in containing introduced threats to agriculture.

[facthunter]

An early burst of high temperatures after budburst  (veraison) may result in the vine shedding  all the new  immature fruit. Mine were irrigated, so by turning the water on you can avoid that. About 3 hot days in row can do it.  The vine tries to save itself. Fruit trees will do it too... You  should have still gotten the odd pair of grapes on the tendrils, which form later.  Nev

[spacesailor]

How are your bee's , there is so few ' amateur ' bee keepers in our area now.

They seem worried about the new outbreak over " Varroa mite " 

So thet got rid of their hives .

spacesailor

PS no more ' free ' honey for me 

[onetrack]

Yes, I'm wondering about the bee question. We used to have a huge hive in the chimney of a house just two houses away, the house belonged to an old Chinese lady.

She got sent off to a retirement home by her son as she was getting frail and needing care - and the house was sold - to a developer.

Immediately, the developer ripped the house apart and totally revamped it. As part of the deal, they put a whole new roof on the house and removed the huge beehive.

I'm wondering if we've run out of bees locally, because we don't seem to have the bees in the garden that we used to have.

 

The grapevine got attacked by powdery mildew a couple of years ago, but seems to have recovered. I got some spray for the powdery mildew, but then found you couldn't spray it when it was over 25 degrees, and it was well into Spring when I bought it, so I couldn't really get a cool day.

 

My neighbour has a grapevine that has plenty of grapes, but they're a different variety, bigger seeded grapes. Our grapes are small and seedless and make great currants and raisins, as well as being good eating.

[facthunter]

Bees are not the only critters that will pollenate . They are one of the best though.  There are some fairly benign treatment s for Powdery Mildew. Also know as ODIUM It stinks and you don't want it in winegrapes. Are they Thomson's seedless?  I used wettable sulphur and a vegetable oil . and a thorough wetting both sides of the leaves   GOOD spray equipment. Nev

[onetrack]

Nev, I have no idea of the variety, it was an old grapevine when we arrived here in 1990, it was probably planted in the 1960's. The house was built in 1957.

[facthunter]

You'd probably be better off to replace it with something you know is more reliable and suitable. It's not a lot of trouble to replant.   Nev

[onetrack]

It grows against the side fence at the rear of our place, between the fence and the garage. I built a decent trellis for it several years ago, and it gets trained over the trellis every year. It's always been a prolific producer of grapes, that's why I'm puzzled as to what's happened this year.

 

[facthunter]

It looks to have plenty of vigour. The distance between the nodes indicate that.  You can graft other varieties onto it, IF you want to play around.  Nev

[spacesailor]

As it is old , who knows , it could , like my father's grape vine be pre-European " Phyloxera " disease.

1850 introduced to Europe . only three generations old.

spacesailor

PS we,  the grown children . Got that  " sore-arse disease " from eating too many pips .

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by spacesailor
A little more !

[facthunter]

Phylloxera usually  causes loss of vigour and death of the Plant. It is an insect that attacks the roots. I think the vine you have is a common one of the period from what I can ascertain. It's probably Flame seedless and very susceptible to Powdery Mildew which is very prevalent in WA. I would try to control it as a first priority and use a good wetting agent.  Nev