I spent some time this morning stuffing and thinning shoots in the vineyard until it got a little too windy to continue, so I decided to finish the row I was in and go back inside. But not before I took a photograph of an unusual event that is going on in the canopy right now.I have no explanation for this phenomenon that occurs in a handful of grapevines every spring, mostly in the Syrah, I just simply refer to it as "that double-meristem-thingy." I'm pretty sure the dividing of the apical meristem, into two growing tips, is simply a spontaneous somatic mutation. The clusters on these shoots never seem to be adversely affected, however it does result in twice the amount of fruit. The more the merrier.
7 comments:
You lost me after "I".
I'm with Thud, tho Ill blame the Sherry!
If you could identify the cause, there's a few million chaps going through Follicle Challenge that could be interested....
is one of them called Wolverine?
Did you notice that you are a Blog Awards FINALIST! that's so awesome (and so truly deserved)! :-)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7CLMSMG
2B: I had no idea, thanks for letting me know.
The tendrils and flower clusters are the same structure, essentially
If I'm interpreting the picture correctly, it seems that the tendrils have decided to become flower clusters
There's a gibberellin mutant that mark thomas and colleagues described in pinot meunier when all the tendrils become flower clusters
sounds like you have spotted an interesting somatic mutation - would be worth taking a cutting from this bit of the cane when it hardens
Jamie, yes indeed clusters are merely 'modified tendrils' but this is the shoot deciding to split into a big divining-rod-type-thingy. It happens quite frequently in the Syrah vines...too frequent to bother cloning it - but hang on a min, may be I could market a grapevine that gets twice as many clusters chi-ching!
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