The 6^th International Table Grape Symposium held at UC Davis was a great success. Forty oral presentations and 25 posters were presented to an international audience of approximately 300 participants.
 

University of California Cooperative Extension researchers Matthew Fidelibus, Jennifer Hashim and Stephen Vasquez hosted meeting participants from a dozen nations and US growers from California, Colorado and Idaho. Highlights of the meeting were symposia that focused on the use and benefit of plant growth regulators for improved fruit quality and an overview of California’s public and private table grape and rootstock breeding programs. Articles from both symposia as well as the entire programs oral and poster...

With the passing of bloom, table grape growers are turning their attention from managing fruit set to maximizing berry size.  One practice that increases berry size is girdling, removing a thin strip of bark from around the vine trunk.  The girdle disrupts the flow of carbohydrates from the vine's canopy to its roots; the young berries grow fat on the extra sugar that would otherwise have been consumed by the roots. 

Special double-bladed knives are used to make the girdles.  Keeping the blades sharp makes the task go much easier.  Some knives also have a single blade on one end of the handle.  I prefer such knives as the single blade is a handy tool for removing loose bark that interferes with...