COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Pruning Grapes to the

Four-Arm Kniffin System
Revised by Gill Giese1

aces.nmsu.edu/pubs • Cooperative Extension Service • Guide H-303

The College of Pruning can

be defined
Agricultural, as a dwarf-
ing process
where veg-
Consumer and etation and/
or wood is
Environmental removed
and the
Sciences is an plant is
made physi-
cally small-
engine for economic er. Dormant
grapevine
and community pruning is
a critical
development in New viticultural operation that removes 80 to 90% of the current season’s growth,
and is the primary means of regulating crop production in the subsequent
season. Light or minimal pruning results in many growing points, weak
Mexico, improving shoot growth, many small clusters and berries, and poor annual wood matu-
ration. Heavy or severe pruning, leaving few growing points overall, results
the lives of New in excessively vigorous shoot growth, and fewer fruit clusters with relatively
large berries. The successful grape grower prunes to direct vine growth to the
Mexicans through desired trellis system and to optimize yield and quality over many years. The
Kniffin pruning system was devised in 1852 to train Concord grapevines (Vi-
tis labrusca). Despite its relatively high labor requirement, the four-arm Knif-
academic, research, fin system is sometimes used in northern New Mexico to train interspecific
or French hybrid varieties on sites with low to moderate vigor potential.
and extension Some aspects of grapevine growth and fruiting habit are relevant to effec-
tive pruning. Grape clusters are borne on shoots that arise from compound
programs. buds located on one-year-old canes. The first four to ten of these buds on a
given cane are typically the most fruitful. Select four to six one-year-old canes
located near the vine trunk as fruiting canes. These canes should be cut back
to leave a total of 30 to 50 buds per vine (about 8–12 buds per cane). A large
vine can support 50 buds, whereas a smaller vine will better support 30 buds.
Remove all other canes not selected as fruiting canes, leaving three or four
two-bud spurs (short canes) near the vine trunk. These “renewal spurs” will
produce fruiting canes for the following year. Pruning should be completed
during vine dormancy in late winter. If pruning is delayed until early spring,
extra care is required to avoid damage to swollen buds and/or young shoots.

All About Discovery!TM

New Mexico State University
aces.nmsu.edu Extension Viticulture Specialist, Department of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University.
1
Sap “bleeding” from pruning cuts does not harm vines;
it indicates a healthy vine and the end of dormancy.
At planting, the vine should be cut back to two buds
(Figure 1). During the first growing season, tie and train
all shoots upward. Immediately prior to the second
growing season, select and tie one or two canes to a
training stake; these canes will become trunks. Remove
all other canes at the crown or above the graft union.
Multiple trunks are a proven method for compensat-
ing for winter or cold injury. Although vines can grow
and produce satisfactorily with a single trunk, multiple
trunks can offer “insurance” because often only one
trunk is killed or damaged in each cold event. Tie the
trunk(s) to the fruiting wire with cloth strips, jute twine,
or “plant ties” (Figure 2). Use a loose loop around the
cane to avoid girdling the trunk as its girth expands dur-
ing the growing season. During the second and third
dormant seasons, select four fruiting canes, one in each
direction on both wires. Do not forget to leave “renewal
spurs” as described previously. Wrap the selected fruiting
canes 1 1/2 to 2 times around the fruiting wire, tying
them to the wire near the end of the cane (Figures 3 and
4). With this “framework” in place, future pruning will Figure 1. Prune newly planted year-old nursery plant to
be to control vine size and regulate crop load (Figure 5). two buds.

Figure 2. First dormant pruning: before pruning (left) and after pruning and tying off the trunk (right).

Guide H-303 • Page 2

Figure 3. Second dormant pruning: before pruning (left) and after pruning to select arms (right).

Figure 4. Third dormant pruning: before pruning (left) and after pruning to select arms (right).

Guide H-303 • Page 3

Figure 5. Fourth dormant pruning: before (left) and after pruning for vine size and crop load (right).

REFERENCES:
Reynolds, A.G., and T.K. Wolf. 2008. Pruning and Gill Giese is the Extension Viticulture Spe-
training. In T.K. Wolf (Ed.), Wine grape production cialist and Assistant Professor at NMSU. He
guide for eastern North America [NRAES-145], (pp. earned his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, and has
worked as a commercial winemaker and viti-
98–123). Itaca, NY: NRAES Cooperative Extension.
culture/enology instructor. His applied research
Dami, I., B. Bordelon, D.D. Ferree, M. Brown, M.A. and Extension work focuses on variety/rootstock
Ellis, R.N. Williams, and D. Doohan. 2005. Mid- evaluation, mitigation of frost/cold damage, soil
west grape production guide [Bulletin 919]. Colum- issues, insects and nematodes, and trellising op-
bus: The Ohio State University Extension. tions to optimize grape yield and berry composi-
tion in New Mexico and the arid Southwest.

Original authors: Previously reviewed by Ron By-

ford, Department Head, Extension Plant Sciences;
and Esteban Herrera, Extension Horticulturist.

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Revised April 2018 Las Cruces, NM

Guide H-303 • Page 4