Train the shoot straight up a bamboo or casuarina pole to the pandal, tip it at about 2 m, and develop main arms in opposite directions, then secondary and tertiary arms. Pruning bud level depends on variety: e.g. 2 buds for Thompson Seedless and Sharad Seedless, 4 for Bangalore Blue and Anab-e-Shahi, 5 for Red Globe, 5–7 for Muscat Hamburg. Muscat Hamburg is pruned twice for two crops: December–January (harvest April–May) and May–June (harvest August–September). Seedless varieties get a back pruning in August–September and a fruit pruning in January–March for one crop.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Grapes – Training; pruning; pruning season, pp. 21–22
Region
Tamil Nadu
Last updated
2026-11-04
Canopy and bunch care
Thin shoots at the 4–5 leaf stage: keep about 2 shoots per square foot for Muscat Hamburg, 1 for seedless grapes for local markets, and under 0.75 for export. Tip shoots leaving 9–11 leaves above the last cluster, and remove tendrils. Thin extra clusters before flowering, and remove 20–30% of berries from compact bunches at pea stage (3–4 mm) with scissors.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Grapes – Special viticultural practices, p. 24
