Monastrell grape variety: description and characteristics, planting and care, pruning

The taste of grape berries is familiar to everyone since childhood. They are used for different purposes - table varieties are eaten, and technical ones are allowed for processing. The Monastrell grape variety is one of the most famous technical varieties of Spanish origin. Its history has been going on for two and a half thousand years. During this time, it has spread throughout the world and has become the basis for a tart red wine, the taste of which largely depends on the place where the berries were harvested.

Description and characteristics of the variety

Monastrell, or Mourvedre - red grapes of late ripening. It has powerful bushes that give a good increase in shoots that can fully mature.

The leaves of the variety are three-lobed, with a weak dissection, pubescence on the back. The plant has bisexual flowers. The berries are small, round, dark purple, with a strong wax coating. Their flesh is very juicy, the skin is tough. Grape clusters are dense, cone-shaped, of medium size. The technical variety Monastrell ripens within 150 days after the start of bud movement.

Pros and cons of Monastrell grapes

This variety has long been known to gardeners. Among its advantages, they note:

• high yield;
• drought tolerance;
• unpretentiousness;
• high quality wine;
• undemanding to soils.

There are not so many disadvantages of the variety:

• weakly resistant to fungal diseases;
• slow development in cool, humid climates.

The nuances of growing crops

Getting a good grape bush, and in the future, a harvest of berries is possible only if agricultural practices are followed, planting seedlings in a timely manner.

When to plant

Each gardener decides for himself when to plant grapes - in spring or autumn.

In spring, the soil is moist, saturated with useful elements. The seedling quickly takes root, begins its growth and development.

The disadvantages of spring planting include the likelihood of damage to the seedling by insect pests, late frosts.

Planting in the fall should be carried out in advance so that the plant has time to take root. For the winter, it should be covered securely so that freezing does not occur.

Preparation of planting material and landing site

To prepare the soil for planting, they dig trenches or pits into which a soil mixture is poured, consisting of garden soil, humus, ash and sand. For spring planting they are prepared in the fall, for autumn - in the summer, for a month and a half.

Cuttings are soaked in water before planting, treated with a growth stimulator and planted, leaving two buds on the surface. They are covered with plastic bottles, creating their own microclimate. The seedling will be ready for planting in a permanent place next season.

Overwintered cuttings already have roots and developing leaves. After hardening in a school, they are transferred to a permanent place.

Ground landing

To plant a seedling in a permanent place, it is placed in a prepared hole along with a clod of earth so that the neck is at ground level or slightly lower.

The grapes are watered abundantly, slightly shaded from direct sunlight and the soil around the plant is mulched.

Subtleties of grape care

Monastrell variety is unpretentious. The plant is able to develop independently. But with proper care, the yield increases significantly, the quality of the berries improves. The type of activity depends on the phase the grapes are in.

Irrigation features

Monastrell grapes are unpretentious, easily tolerate heat and drought. Watering is carried out as needed, taking into account the precipitation.

In the first year after planting, the seedling is watered once a week, during the heat it is moistened daily. Water consumption - 5 buckets for an adult bush.

Experts do not recommend watering the grapes during flowering and stop it two weeks before the berries are fully ripe. To ripen the vines and increase the winter hardiness of the bushes, the last abundant watering is carried out in late autumn, as soon as the leaves fall.

Fertilizers and top dressings

The first dressing is applied under the grapes at the time of planting. After that, the vine needs no fertilizer for 2-3 years.

Adult bushes are fed with organic matter and mineral preparations. In the spring, liquid fertilizers are better absorbed, in the fall - in the form of granules or powder. During the season, the plant is fed several times:

• two weeks before flowering - with superphosphate, potassium s alt, urea;
• during the formation of berries - potassium s alt, superphosphate;
• during the ripening period of berries - phosphate fertilizers;
• after harvest - nitrogen in the form of organic matter and mineral fertilizers.

Timely feeding, root and foliar, provide plants with nutrients, contribute to a successful wintering.

Pruning grapes

Monastrell grapes are covered, so they cut them twice a year. The first time - in the fall, before the onset of cold weather, before shelter, along a mature vine.

In the spring, before the opening of the buds, pruning is carried out, having previously determined which buds remained intact. During this period, it is worth removing weak, damaged, non-fruiting and fattening shoots.

Usually, on technical late varieties, 2 to 14 eyes are left when pruning.

Wintering

Don't rush to shelter the Monastrell grapes for the winter. With a gradual decrease in temperature, the bushes harden before wintering and are not afraid of temporary cold snaps.

Full shelter should be completed by the end of leaf fall, when frosts come to -10 ⁰С.The vine is covered by sprinkling with earth and pinning the shoots, placing them in shallow ditches. On both sides there should be trenches for the removal of spring melt water. For protection, boxes, slate, boards, spruce branches, covering material are used.

The quality of wintering Monastrell grapes is influenced by the timeliness of harvesting and the quality of autumn irrigation.

How to protect crops from diseases and pests

Monastrell variety is not resistant to fungal diseases. It should be treated with fungicides at all stages of development:

• during removal of winter shelter;
• at the beginning of bud break;
• one week before flowering;
• one month before harvest;
• after pruning, before wintering.

Medicines should be used exactly as directed.

The main pests of the Monastrell variety include:

• grape aphid;
• leaflet;
• felt mite;
• Khrushchi.

Broad-spectrum insecticides are proven and reliable.

Harvest and storage of crops

Monastrell grapes are harvested in August-September. Each bunch weighs an average of 700 g. The berries are used to make wine in combination with other varieties, because Monastrell has a too rich taste.

Recommended