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Dragon System of Training and Pruning

in China's Viticulture
GUOGUANG

LUO 1

The dragon training system is one of the two main systems for growing grapevines in China. The vine is trained
to single or multiple cordons branching just above the ground onto a sloping or horizontal arbor (with wire netting) about 2 m in height. Total length of the permanent vine structure varies averaging from 4 to 10 m. Each cordon or "dragon body" bears consecutive spur positions or "dragon claws" consisting of 1 to 3 bud spurs 10 to 30
cm apart. The "dragons" lie parallel on the arbor approximately 50 cm apart. The advantages of this system are:
1) comparatively easy training, pruning, and high productivity during early years after planting (15- 30 t/ha yield
can be achieved by the fourth or fifth year); 2) good adaptability to macroclimatic conditions in northern China,
where it is usually necessary to bury fruiting wood to survive winters; 3) extensive coverage of the ground surface area with good exposure of foliage to sunlight; and 4) efficient control of vine capacity by shoot removal,
cluster thinning, and other cultural practices. The procedures of training dragon-trained vines are described as
well as the disadvantages and problems of this system compared to other systems used in China.

dragon system has proven to be one of the best training


systems for northern China (1,4,6,7,8).
This paper gives a brief review of traditional methods
and new developments in the dragon system of training
grapevines in China.

Vitis vinifera L. cultivated grapes were introduced


into China more than 2000 years ago and are now widely
grown. Wuhebai or Ak Kishmish (Thompson Seedless) in
northwest China is the leading variety for raisins, table
grapes, and winemaking. In other parts of China, grapes
for table use were dominant and now wine grape production is increasing rapidly.
More and more land is being planted to grapes,
including cultivars of V. vinifera, V. labrusca, V. amurensis, and their hybrids. The tot&l area currently planted to
grapes in China (not including Taiwan) is estimated at
58 000 hectares.
China's continental climate produces hot summers
and cold winters. The best and most widely planted
grapegrowing regions in China are located in the north,
where vinifera grapevines usually need to be buried in
winter. The training-pruning-trellis system must facilitate this practice.
China's long viticultural tradition has been augmented by the scientific research which followed the founding
of the People's Republic of China. For more detailed
information of viticulture in China see Huibai Huang
(2,3).
Of the two main training systems widely employed in
China, fan training and dragon training (Fig. 1), the
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usually has one trunk and one cordon, or "dragon body" of


4 to 10 m, although the trunk may be divided just above
the ground, giving rise to several "dragon bodies" termed
"two- ", "three- ", or "multi-dragon" systems. The cordon
bears consecutive fruiting units ("dragon claws") formed
10 to 30 cm apart, each unit consisting of one spur early
in training and several spurs in mature vines (Fig. 3). All
mature shoots are pruned to one- to two-bud spurs at the
time of winter pruning, except the apical cane which is
left long.
The traditional single-dragon system has long been
used in Zhangjiakou Prefecture in Hebei Province, where
the unilateral cordon is typically supported by an individual small pergola formed with wooden sticks (Fig. 2). In
non-irrigated areas, the vines have relatively small capacity, and the dragon body is about 4 to 5 m long.
Grapevines in such areas are often scattered and give low
yield per unit area. In irrigated areas, vines are more
developed, and a dragon body may extend as long as 15 m.
In 1983, we investigated a one hundred-year-old dragontrained vine of cv. Niunai in Huailai County, Hebei
Province. The main body of the vine was 13.9 m in length
with 79 spur positions and had a branch-cordon ("daughter-dragon") 6 m in length with 34 spur positions. There
were 112 clusters left on the vine for a potential 60 to 70
kg yield.

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JB

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the D r a g o n S y s t e m
Basic structures: A typical dragon-trained vine

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B2

Fig. 1. The main training systems used in China. A - dragon


training; A1 - single-dragon training, A2- two-dragon training. B Fan training; B1 - on arbor trellis, B2 - on a four-wire vertical trellis.

The two-dragon system of training is widely used in


Liaoning Province in northeast China. The vines have
two main cordons rising from one trunk near the ground
surface. In some vineyards, the three-dragon system is
practiced. With this system, a vine has three main
cordons branching from the same trunk. Each cordon
increases its diameter much more slowly than the singledragon cordon, which facilitates laying down the cordons
for winter burial; however, it is difficult to maintain equal
vigor in the three cordons due to their imbalanced growth

1Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture, Beijing Agricultural University, Beijing,


China.
Presented at the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture,
Reno, Nevada (June 1985).
The author thanks Dr. W. M. Kliewer for encouragement and support in preparing this
paper; Dr. B. Swanton for his careful revision of the manuscript; and Prof. Wangheng Fu, Deren
Xiu, Zan L0, Dahhua Yu, Lixi Liu, and Xuefeng Xu for supplying some materials, photographs,
and comments.
Manuscript submitted for publication 14 November 1985.
Copyright 1986 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. All rights reserved.

152
Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

DRAGON TRAINING SYSTEM m 153

Fig. 2. A single-dragon-trained vine


of the cv. 'Longyan' ('Dragon Eyes')
on a individual pergola at the stage of
harvest maturity.

Fig. 3. A section of the cordon


("Dragon body"), on which many fruiting units ("Dragon claws") are distributed.

and fruiting.
In vineyards with the dragon system of training,
especially in dense plantings, the cordons extend from
one row to another, covering the space between rows with
approximately 50 cm between cordons.
Dragon training systems have been successfully used
with Longyan (Dragon Eyes), Niunai (Cow's Nipples),
Meiguixiang (Muscat Hamburg), Kyoho, Beichun, and
other cultivars.
Productivity: Depending on growing conditions and
management practices, there is great variation in produc-

tivity using the dragon system. In dry, hilly areas, nonirrigated vineyards usually produce 3 to 5 t/ha, in part
due to the low planting density (only 300 - 400 vines/ha)
where vines are often interplanted with annual crops.
However, the dragon system can give fairly high production and good quality when fertilization and irrigation are
used. Many vineyards in Hebei and Liaoning Provinces
yield about 30 t/ha. In Zhangjiakou Prefecture thousands
of acres of new vineyards have been planted using cuttings. The vines enter into production in the third year
after planting, yielding from 3 to 7.5 t/ha.

Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

154 m DRAGON SYSTEM TRAINING

Fig. 4. A young vineyard with all


Dragons (cordons)lying on a continuous arbor (by courtesy of Xiu Deren).

Fig. 5. A heavy-yielding vineyard


(45 t/ha) just before harvest. All single-dragons are supported by a continuous horizontal arbor, extensively
covering the ground surface area (by
courtesy of Yu Danhua).

The great potential productivity of the dragon system


has been shown recently by D. Xiu et al. (8) on a small experimental vineyard in Huailai County, Hebei Province.
Grape cuttings of cv. Longyan were planted in 1977,
producing the first crop in 1979 (15.7 t/ha) with subsequent yield increases in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983 (35.6,
45.3, 37.3, and 60.4 t/ha, respectively). A recent crop is
pictured in Figure 5.
F r u i t quality: It is usually difficult to get high
quality grapes from vineyards in those regions with
frequent and heavy summer rains. But in semi-arid areas
with less rainfall, for example the eastern part of Zhang-

jiakou Prefecture, grapes of quite good quality have been


produced. The best fruit quality is obtained in nonirrigated vineyards in hilly areas where the sugar content
typically reaches more than 20 Balling. The singledragon system with separate pergolas often produces
grapes of higher quality than pergolas with continuous
foliage, which may result from its better microclimatic
conditions.
The high crop level of irrigated vineyards is often
associated with reduced fruit quality. The negative correlation between total soluble solids and yield for cv.
Longyan (9) indicates that under the conditions of Huai-

Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

DRAGON SYSTEM TRAINING --

FIRST YEAR AFTER PLANTING:


A, IN SPRING
B, IN SUMMER
C, FIRST WINTER PRUNING
A

SECOND YEAR:
A LONGCANE IS LEFT
AFTER WINTER PRUNING
TO FORMYOUNGDRAGON
BODY,
--~.
p

4-6 M

--

.|

THIRD YEAR:
THE YOUNGVINE ENTERS INTO
BEARING, ALL MATURED
SHOOTS ARE PRUNEDTO 1-2
BUD SPURS, EXCEPTAPICAL
CANE IS LEFT LONG,

FOURTH YEAR:
YIELD INCREASES MARKEDLY,
DRAGON BODYOR MAIN CORDON
HAS BEEN FORMEDAND DRAGON
CLAWS OR ARM POSITIONS
CONTINUE TO BE DEVELOPED,

Fig. 6. Forming a dragon-trained vine.

lai County, Hebei Province, the yield by the third, fourth,


and fifth year after planting should be limited to no more
than 10, 30, and 40 to 45 t/ha, respectively.
Adaptability to environmental conditions: The
dragon system is adaptable to diverse environmental and
cultural conditions. It can be used in non-irrigated dry
area vineyards with relatively low capacity or in irrigated
areas with vigorous growth and high production. In either
case, the vine capacity may be easily maintained by
winter pruning, shoot removal, cluster thinning, and
other cultural practices with the additional advantage of
ease of winter burial. To facilitate burial, a gradually
rising angle at the basal part of the trunk or cordon is
needed (Fig. 6).

Procedure of Vine
Training and Pruning
The objective in training to the dragon system is to
develop one, two, or three main cordons (dragon bodies)
and form on each a set of fruiting units or arms (dragon
claws). The procedure for the single-dragon system is as
follows (Fig. 6).
First year - Planting: Well-matured hardwood cuttings, usually with three buds, or one-year-old rootings
are planted in spring. One well-developed shoot is left on
each vine and pinched three to four times during the
growing season to strengthen the shoot. The shoot diameter should be about 1 cm by fall. All shoots are then
pruned back to one to two buds at the end of the growing
season before being covered with earth for overwintering.
Second year - Developing the main stem: One
normal shoot is selected for optimum position and tied up

155

the stake to develop the cordon. All other shoots are


removed. The lateral shoots arising from the bottom 30
cm of the main shoot should be broken out while those
arising above 30 cm are limited to four leaves (nodes). All
secondary lateral shoots are limited to one to three leaves.
The main shoot is not topped until it reaches a length of 2
to 2.5 m. All practices are designed to obtain vigorous
growth and good wood maturity of the main shoot, which
is left as a long cane at winter pruning. This cane is cut
where its diameter is just less than 1.2 cm and is usually
from 1.5 to 2.5 m long.
Third y e a r - B e g i n n i n g of fruit production: Fairly
good production can be achieved by the third year,
provided there is a sufficient number of long canes left in
the vineyard after winter pruning. Vines should be kept
vigorous, and overcropping should be avoided. At the end
of the growing season, all matured shoots are pruned to
one to two bud spurs, except the apical cane, which is left
long to continue developing the cordon.
F o u r t h y e a r - Extending the cordon: Yield is
greatly increased over the third year's production, due to
the increased numbers of spurs. At winter pruning, all
mature shoots arising from spurs are again pruned back
to one to two bud spurs to start forming arms; the apical
cane is again left long.
In general, four to five years are needed to complete
the training and give full production under favorable
conditions. Depending on nutritional status, the crop
level under the dragon system may be adjusted annually
by modifying the length and number of spurs left at
winter pruning, by shoot removal, and cluster thinning.
Several types of trellis systems can be used with the
dragon training. The traditional single-dragon system
has been used with the single-dragon pergola consisting
exclusively of wooden sticks (Fig. 2). This is inexpensive,
and separately spaced pergolas give good light exposure.
The trellis should be set up in the spring and taken down
annually for vine burial. Its disadvantages are uneconomical use of land and relatively low productivity. The
single-dragon pergola trellis may have its place in some
hillside vineyards.
The most commonly used types of trellis with the
dragon system are the continuous sloping or horizontal
arbors, which use a continuous roof of wire netting
supported by wooden, stone, cement-concrete, or iron
poles (Fig. 4, 5).
Problems and Improvements
Although the dragon system is quite popular in many
grapegrowing regions, fan training is more prevalent in
most vineyards in northern China. A comparison between these two main systems of training is shown in
Table 1.
The main problems with dragon training and their
potential solutions are discussed below.
Inconvenience for winter burial and s p r i n g restoration: It is frequently difficult to remove the vine
from the pergola for winter burial or restore it to its trellis
in the spring. This is associated mainly with rapid
increase in thickness of the main stem, which becomes

Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

156 m DRAGON SYSTEM TRAINING

Table 1. General comparison between dragon training and fan training


1.

Pruning method

2.

Trellising system

3.
4.

Budload
% Budbreak

5.
6.

% Fruiting shoots
Fruit Quality

7.

Yield

8.

Winter protection

Dragon training

Fan training

Relatively easy, all shoots are pruned to 1-2


bud spurs, except apical extending cane.
Arbor system prefered.

More complex, best shoots can be left and


pruned to 6-15 buds.
Good for both arbor system and vertical
trellis.
More flexible in adjusting bud numbers.
Lower.

Relatively constant.
Higher, may be uneven along very long
dragon bodies.
Usually lower.
Clusters are more uniform, compact and
heavy.
More regular, variable with vineyards, may
be as high as 20-30 t/ha.
Often difficult to bury with earth due to
strong dragon bodies.
More difficult.

Renewal of main stems

stronger and harder with age. In view of this, some


growers prefer the two-dragon system because the two
cordon branches thicken much more slowly than one. But
forming a two-dragon vine requires more time and introduces the difficulty of maintaining equal vigor between
the two main branches. Alternatively, a new method
adopted in Zhangjiakou Prefecture in recent years is the
planting of several vines at each planting site and retaining only one cordon on each vine. The vine spacing is 1 x
6 m, two vines planted 20 cm apart at each site. Each vine
is trained by the single-dragon system. The distance
between two cordons on the arbor remains at 50 cm or so.
Under these conditions the vines should increase their
stem thickness more slowly while keeping the fairly high
productivity of the early years.
Low f r u i t f u l n e s s of basal b u d s u n d e r s p u r p r u n ing: The basal buds are usually less fruitful for varieties
of the oriential group (V. vinifera proles orientalis Negrul.) such as Longyan, Wuhebai, Niunai, etc. In order to
increase the fruitfulness of the basal buds, shoots are tied
such that the shoot tips are below the plane of the pergola
(Fig. 6). This practice has increased percentage of fruiting shoots arising from the basal buds from about 20% to
50% or more for cv. Longyan in Zhangjiakou Prefecture.
It is also known that with spur pruning, the fruiting
shoots arising from basal buds bear flower clusters much
smaller than those from upper buds in cane pruning.
Table 2. Cluster size comparison between cane-pruned and
spur-pruned vines of cv. Muscat Hamburg
(Adapted from Wang, Futang, 1959).
Cane-pruned vines
No. of clusters
investigated
Cluster size at
beginning of bloom
Length ( cm )
Width ( cm )
No. of flowers
Cluster size at
harvest time
Length ( cm )
Width ( cm )
No. of berries
Rate of increase ( % )
Length
Width

76

Spur-pruned vines
20

8.0
4.5
665.2

5.5
1.75
376.8

12.9
10.9
131.2

18.7
15.4
172

61
142

240
780

Higher.
Clusters are often loose with non-uniform
berries.
Easy to overcrop, variable with vineyards,
may be as high as 20-40 t/ha.
Easier to bury owing to thinner stems.
Much easier.

However, this should not be a problem because, as Wang


et al. (5) have shown, the smaller flower clusters with spur
pruning resulted in larger and heavier fruit clusters with
more uniform berries in comparison with cane pruning
(Table 2).
In order to give full production with dragon training
under favorable nutritional conditions, the bud number
should be optimized. Thus, a modification has been made
in traditional spur pruning. Shoots are cut back to two to
three bud spurs instead of one, and spur pruning is
combined with half-long cane pruning by leaving some
canes with five to eight nodes each at specific intervals
along the cordon. D. Xiu et al. (8) developed a new
method of pruning consisting of a 1-m length of cordon
with one short cane (4-7 nodes) and two spurs of one to
two nodes. This "1-1-2" type of pruning has proven very
effective. With this modified pruning method, the distance between dragon bodies on the arbor may be increased from 50 to 60 or 70 cm, and the short canes are
cut back after fruiting and renewed annually.
N o n - u n i f o r m i t y in d e v e l o p m e n t of d r a g o n claws:
The spurs along the main stem often vary in vigor and
fruitfulness, especially with long cordons where some
spurs on the lower part of the cordon are weak.
D i f f i c u l t i e s in m e c h a n i z a t i o n for v i n e y a r d m a n a g e m e n t : This is a major disadvantage for the system.
The pergola makes cultivation, spraying, and burying
vines more difficult. Thus, grapegrowers often prefer the
vertical trellis with fan training, especially on level land
and for relatively large vineyards. Dragon training has
been used successfully on the vertical trellis by Xiu and
co-workers at the Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, in collaboration
with grapegrowers in Hebei and Liaoning Provinces.
They applied dragon training to a vertical trellis with one
crossarm. Vines are spaced 3 x 3 m (Fig. 7) or 6 x 3 m.
One or two cordons arise from one planting hole and
extend parallel to the row direction, very much like the
typical unilateral cordon method. A 1.2-m crossarm with
four wires is used. Cordons are alternately tied to one of
the center two wires. The outer two wires serve as foliage
support. Additional vines may be planted for temporary
use to get higher production in early years. The first
results of using dragon training with the vertical T- trellis

Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

DRAGON SYSTEM TRAINING - - 157

ii

0810'

1,8-2.2M

_L_
Fig. 7. Single-dragon-trained vines on a vertical T-trellis (by
courtesy of Xiu Deren).

indicate that this new system is worthy of further investigation.

Conclusions
The dragon training system is one of the most
popular systems of vine training in northern China. It
may be thought of as a special type of cordon training
system for adapting grapevines to regions where vines
should be buried for safe overwintering.
The original single-dragon-trained vines with their
dragon bodies of 4 to 10 m or more in length are
supported by separate widely spaced arbors and have the
advantage of being suitable to hilly areas, but the grape
production per unit area is rather low due to low planting
density.
Under intensive cultivation, dragon-trained vines are
densely planted and supported by continuous sloping or
horizontal arbors. The recommended spacings are 1.0 to
1.5 5 to 7 m (with 1-2 more main stems per vine). To
ensure full yields, all dragon cordons should be welldistributed, extending parallel in one direction and per-

pendicular to the row, forming solid wide arbors.


Spur-pruned or superspur-pruned dragon-trained
vines have relatively constant budload and yield. In
irrigated areas, the grape yield can be increased markedly
by modifying the density and spur length of dragon claws
on the basis of improved fertilizer and moisture supply. A
yield as high as 3.5 to 7.5, 15 to 20, and 20 to 30 t/ha or
more can be achieved by the third, fourth, and fifth year
after planting cuttings, respectively.
With the dragon system of training, summer pruning
is important for more efficient use of nutrients and better
exposure of foliage and clusters to sunlight in order to
form strong dragons and promote flower formation and
shoot maturity.
Some modifications may be used to overcome the
disadvantages of dragon training. A vertical T-trellis
seems to be promising for this system of training.

Literature Cited
1. Huang, H., G. Luo, Y. Oi, L. Liu, and K. Wang. Viticulture
(Engl. trans., title in Chinese). Beijing Agricultural University, Beijing (1961).
2. Huang, H. Viticulture in China. HortScience 15:461-6 (1980).
3. Huang, H. A preliminary evaluation of climatic regions for
grapes in north China. Proc. 3rd Int. Symp. Grape Breed. pp 21-30
(1980).
4. Lu, Z. Experience in training and pruning grapevines in arid
areas (Engl. trans., title in Chinese). Sci. Technol., Zhangjiakou 2:611 (1979).
5. Wang, F., and H. Xing. Analysis of training and pruning
methods of grapevines in Fenghuangshan area, Changli County
(Engl. trans., title in Chinese). Hortic. Hebei 3:56-61 (1959).
6. Wang, F. Hillside Viticulture in Changli and Huailai (Engl.
trans., title in Chinese). Agricultural Press, Beijing (1960).
7. Wu, J. Grapegrowing (Engl. trans., title in Chinese). Liaoning People's Press, Shenyang (1982).
8. Xiu, D., D. Wu, G. Zhang, G. Xu, Z. LIJ, S. Wang, M. Lu, S.
Chao, and X. Wang. Experience in getting bumper harvest of
'Longyan' grapes in early years (Engl. trans., title in Chinese).
Fruits in China 1:9-13 (1984).
9. Xiu, D., D. Wu, G. Zhang, G. Xu, Z. LU, S. Wang, and M. Lu.
A study on the correlations between the total soluble solids, yield,
and fruit-shoot ratio of the 'Longyan' grapes. Acta Hortic., Sinica
12(4):237-41 (1985).

Am. J. Enol. Vitic., Vol. 37, No. 2, 1986

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