Grapes Cultivation in India

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Grapes Farming
• Grapes Production in India
• Grapes Cultivation in India
  • Soil & Climate Requirements
  • Land Preparation
  • Plantation
  • Training & Pruning
  • Irrigation
  • Fertilizer & Pesticide Management
  • Harvesting
  • Post-Harvesting Management
• Mechanization in Grapes Farming
• Cost Economics of Grapes Farming

Introduction to Grapes Farming

Grape, also known as Vitis vinifera, belongs to the Vitaceae family and is a commercially important fruit crop in India. It is a sub-tropical crop grown, but it can also grow in tropical conditions in India. The grape season in India varies in different regions. The planting is done from February to March in North India and November to January in the peninsular regions. Indian Grapes are classified into four categories based on their colour and seeds, namely coloured seeds, coloured seedless, white seeds, and white seedless. The popular varieties grown in the country are Thompson Seedless and its mutants, Bangalore Blue Syn. Isabella, Anab-e-Shahi, and many others.

Grapes Production in India

India is the seventh largest producer of Grapes in the world, whereas China is the leading producer. According to the National Horticulture Board (NHB), the estimated grape production in India in 2021-22 is approximately 3489.40 thousand tons. Maharashtra is the largest producer of Grapes in India, followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The state-wise production of Grapes in India in 2021-22 is listed in the below table:

Grapes Cultivation in India

The Grapes cultivation in India involve various stages. Each of them is discussed below:

Soil & Climate Requirements

Grape is a versatile crop. Grape crops can successfully grow in a temperature of 15° C to 35° C. A temperature below 10° C can affect the growth and fruiting of vines. The grape crop bears fruit in hot and dry climate and undergoes dormancy during severe cold in its natural habitat. During the cropping period, the weather should be clear for around 3 to 4 months for better growth of the Grapes.

The cultivation of Grapes requires sandy to clayey and loamy soil with good drainage and irrigation facilities. A soil with a pH value of 6.5 to 7.5 is best suited for grape cultivation.

Land Preparation

Land preparation requires ploughing followed by harrowing. The general practice includes two times ploughing and three times harrowing. However, it depends on the type of land. A land leveler should be used to level the land as per the soil type and gradient.

Plantation

The best time for the grape plantation is February to March in North India, November to January in Peninsular India, and December to January in South India.

The Grapes are usually planted in pits. The pit size can vary depending on the specific requirements of the selected variety and spacing of the vines. The depth of the crops can vary from 60 to 90 cm according to the soil type. A wider spacing of 1.2 m X 1.2 m is needed in case of vigorous varieties, whereas a little less spacing of 90 X 90 cm is needed for other varieties. The pits should be opened around 30 days before planting.

The plants' growth starts in 10 to 15 days after sowing as per the planting season. You may see early growth in those planted during the warm season rather than in the cold season. After one month of plantation, the young plants require staking and pruning.

Training & Pruning

Training is the practice of redirecting the shape, size and direction of the grape plant to create a proper shape and provide a strong framework/support so that the plant can tolerate the heavy crop load. Many training systems are followed in India for grape cultivation, such as bower, kniffin, telephone system, and head system. But the popular ones which are followed on a large scale are the bower & telephone (T-trellis) system.

Pruning refers to the process of removing the grape plant’s excessive branches, particularly shoots, to achieve better and top-quality yield. The pruning practice in India is classified into three categories: single pruning – single cropping, double pruning – single cropping, and double pruning – double cropping.

Irrigation

Irrigation techniques can differ in different parts of India according to rainfall patterns, soil's water-holding capacity, growth stages, pruning time, variety of crops, training system used, and vine spacing.

The newly planted vineyards require irrigation once every three days. The water should be provided in a small circular basin with a radius of 50 cm. At the later stage of the growth, the radius of the basin should be increased by 2 meters.

If you are using a drip irrigation technique, then only one emitter should be put at the vine base at the time of plantation. The emitters should be increased to two and then four and shifted around 30 to 40 cm away from the stem according to the crop variety and vine spacing.

You need to provide heavy irrigation after pruning to wet the whole root area and bring active growth to the vine. The irrigation schedule will be different during winter and summer. You need to provide light irrigation at 10 to 12 days intervals during winters and at 5 to 7 days intervals during summers. If rainfall occurs, then the next irrigation cycle should be avoided or delayed.

Fertilizer and Pesticide Management

Grape cultivation requires a lot of care as it is prone to various diseases and insects. The most common insect types observed in vineyards are flea beetles, thrips & wasps. These insects can be controlled by spraying the crops with dichlorovas, dimethoate & endosulfan.

Grape crops are prone to diseases like leaf blight, powdery mildew, downy mildew, black rot, wilt, etc. Timely treatment and precautions can result in better yield.

Harvesting

Grape crops start fruiting after two years of plantation. Most varieties are ready for harvesting once they change colour near the tip and the berries become sweet. The harvesting time of most grape varieties in India is from March to April. You need to remove the decayed, broken, undersized, and deformed berries a day before picking. Early hours of the day are the best time for harvesting clusters when the temperature is usually below 20° C.

Post Harvesting Management

Once the harvesting is done, the next process is post-harvesting, which includes grading, pre-cooling, and storage.

Grading is done as per the colour and size of the Grapes to maintain uniformity. Please note that during grading, the size of the berries is considered, not the shape and size of the bunch.

After grading, the Grapes are pre-cooled to reduce the field heat and moisture loss. They are pre-cooled at a temperature of below 4.4° C within six hours of harvesting, making them suitable for storage.

The ideal conditions for storage of Grapes are low temperature (0° C) and high humidity (92 to 96 %). The shelf life of Grapes is around one week at room temperature. Therefore, you need to apply suitable means to keep them fresh for a long time.

Mechanization in Grape Farming

Grape farming has become easy and convenient with the introduction of, mini tractors and farm implements in India, which help perform various inter-cultivation operations.

The earlier grape farming method involves manual spraying for the spraying of pesticides in vineyards, but in bad weather conditions, the manual spraying becomes slightly difficult. Thus, the introduction of boom sprayers has revolutionized grape farming in India.

Mini tractors are the best for spraying pesticides and weeding in vineyards. They can be effectively used for intercultural operations and save time, money, and effort.

Cost Economics of Grape Farming

The estimated cost of Grape farming on one acre of land is as follows:

• The approximate cost of the establishment of vineyards is INR 5,98,000.
• The recurring cost of the maintenance of the vineyards per hectare per year is INR 2,67,000.
• If the yield is good, then you may achieve a net return per year per hectare of INR 2,12,000.
• In this case, the benefit-cost ratio of one acre of grape farming will be around 1.81.