I am in year two of establishing a Concord grape vine according to the Four-Arm Kniffen system at my home in New Jersey, and I have a couple of questions related to pruning. I planted the vine in spring 2022, and I had established a strong trunk and 6-8 inch horizontal shoots for both of the lower arms by the fall of 2022. At present (mid-June 2023) those two lower shoots have now grown out to about 32 inches and 14-16 buds each. Each shoot also has one bunch of emerging grapes (picture of one attached) within the first 6-8 inches that were established by fall 2022.
I've read conflicting accounts, so I would appreciate input on the following two questions:
- Should I prune the two developing grape bunches from the horizontal shoots? I read one source that said I should do so because having grape growth in the second year will draw energy from the development of the root system.
- And is now the time to tip those 32-inch horizontal shoots back to 10 buds at most? I don't know if that should be done at this time of year or whether I should wait until the end of the season or the start of next spring.
Thanks for any help the community might have to offer!
