Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) is a trellising system that may be used for which pruning methods?

Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) is a trellising system that may be used for which pruning methods?

• A. Cane-pruned only.
• B. Spur-pruned only.
• C. Either cane-pruned or spur-pruned.
• D. Neither pruning method; VSP uses unpruned vines.

Answer: (C)

Vertical Shoot Positioning keeps the canopy in a narrow, vertical plane to maximize sun exposure and air flow along the vine. That arrangement is flexible enough to work with how the vine is pruned. You can use cane pruning on VSP by selecting one or two long canes from last year’s growth and laying them along the vertical fruiting wires, tying them in to form the fruiting canes in the vertical plane. You can also use spur pruning on VSP by trimming back to short spurs on the cordon, with shoots rising upward along the same vertical plane. In both cases, the goal is to place fruiting wood and shoots in a single vertical layer, which VSP supports, so either pruning method is compatible. It isn’t limited to unpruned vines, and it isn’t restricted to one pruning style, which is why the correct choice is that either cane-pruned or spur-pruned can be used.

Vertical Shoot Positioning keeps the canopy in a narrow, vertical plane to maximize sun exposure and air flow along the vine. That arrangement is flexible enough to work with how the vine is pruned. You can use cane pruning on VSP by selecting one or two long canes from last year’s growth and laying them along the vertical fruiting wires, tying them in to form the fruiting canes in the vertical plane. You can also use spur pruning on VSP by trimming back to short spurs on the cordon, with shoots rising upward along the same vertical plane. In both cases, the goal is to place fruiting wood and shoots in a single vertical layer, which VSP supports, so either pruning method is compatible. It isn’t limited to unpruned vines, and it isn’t restricted to one pruning style, which is why the correct choice is that either cane-pruned or spur-pruned can be used.