8. GRAPE PRODUCTION IN MYANMAR

Hla San*

*Farm Manager, Sepauk Grape Farm, c/o General Manager (Extension), Myanmar Agriculture Service, Kanbe, Yangon, Myanmar.

Grapes were planted in Myanmar on an experimental scale in 1959 at Sebauk State Farm, Kyaukpadaung Township, and Myingyan district, in the dry zone of Central Myanmar. As it was shown that cultivation of this crop was feasible in this climatic zone, grape was extended to Kyaukpadaung, Meikhtila, Nyaung Oo, Yamethin, Pyawbwe and Pakokku townships.

These townships are very dry areas of Central Myanmar. The climatic conditions of grape growing areas of Myanmar are probably different from that of other grape growing countries. Therefore, cultivation practices for grapes in Myanmar may not be the same as in other countries. Furthermore, there was only scanty research information available concerning grape cultivation in the 1950’s. Consequently, the practices of cultivation were developed through experience by technicians of Sebauk grape farm.

Grapes naturally flower in April-May at the beginning of the rainy season and consequently there is flower drop and less fruit due to the rain, also the fruits that set in the rainy season have lower sweetness. Thus pruning systems were developed to make fruits set in the dry period, which is between February and March.

2. PRESENT STATUS OF GRAPE CULTIVATION

In Myanmar, grapes are grown mainly for the fresh fruit market. Grapes are grown not only in state farms but also in private farms. The cultivated area of grapes is shown in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1. Grape Area under State Farms (Myanmar Agriculture Service)

MAS Farm	Area (ha)	Variety (ha)
		Bokhari	Muscat	Pizzutello
Sebauk	17.25	16.25	0.75	0.25
Nyaung Oo	8.44	7.00	0.30	0.14
Meikhtila	6.99	3.00	2.00	1.99
Total	32.68	26.25	3.05	2.38

Table 2. Grape Area in Private Farms

State & Div. Township	Cultivated	Variety (ha)
	Area (ha)	Bokhari	Muscat	Pizzutello	Kuato	Cardinal	Alexandria
Mandalay
Meikhtila	107.65	85.80	11.33	10.52	-	-	-
Yamethin	373.13	267.10	57.47	48.56	-	-	-
Pyawbwe	206.80	153.79	29.94	23.07	-	-	-
Tatkone	0.40	-	-	0.40	-	-	-
Shan
Tachileik	40.49	-	-	-	40.49	-	-
Taunggyi	15.61	13.36	-	-	-	1.25	1.00
Magway
Pakokku	1.21	1.21	-	-	-	-	-
Rakhine	2.02	2.02	-	-	-	-	-
Total	747.31	523.28	98.74	82.55	40.49	1.25	1.00

3. PRODUCTION OF PLANTING MATERIAL

In Myanmar, use of cuttings is the only method for propagation of grapes. However, budding and grafting techniques were tested very recently in state farms but promising results have not been observed yet and experimentation of these techniques is still continuing.

Propagation of Grapes by Cuttings

Six to twelve month old hardwood cuttings are produced from established vines. The cuttings are taken in mid-October from healthy mature vines. The pencil-width mature canes 20-30 cm long are cut with three or four buds in each. The cane is cut at 2.5 cm away from the nodes, and the lower cut is slanting for easy planting.

The cuttings are taken from the canes already pruned and removed from the vines. The cuttings are dipped in sulfenatte suspension (1:300) for about 5 minutes and put in boxes. In the box, the cuttings are covered with a soaked gunny sack to maintain moisture and the boxes are then transported to the nursery sites.

Propagation at Nursery Site

The beds are prepared at least one month ahead of the cuttings being taken. Beds of 1 meter wide, 30 cm deep and 7 meters long are demarcated. The path between the beds is about 45 cm. The soil of the beds is loosened and left for 5 days for sun drying. About 2 baskets of farmyard manure (40 kg) is mixed with the soil in each nursery bed. Then the beds are watered for a few days. If the soil is hard and of high clay content, sand is added to loosen the soil for better aeration.

On the bed, planting points of 7.5 cm x 7.5 cm apart are prepared and slanted planting holes 15 cm deep are made by using a stick with a diameter of about 5 cm.

The cuttings are planted in the holes and the soil around each cutting is pressed down by foot. The nursery beds are watered once a day in the evening and hand weeding is done as necessary. If the weather is too hot and sunny, partial shade is given for the nursery beds. One month after planting the cuttings in the bed, the new shoots come out and they are transplanted into polybags.

The soil to fill up the polybags is prepared by mixing topsoil, sand and organic matter in a ratio of 10:5:1 ratio by volume. The prepared soil is filled in ploy-bags of 18 x 30 cm size and the soil is filled up to half of the bag.

The cuttings are dug up taking care not to damage the roots, and the roots are then washed out. The cutting is planted in the bag and soil is filled and pressed down gently. Polybag cuttings are put under shade and watered twice a day and placed under close supervision for controlling pests and diseases as necessary.

4. ESTABLISHMENT OF VINEYARDS

Land Preparation

Normal land clearing is done by under brushing, cutting, burning, stacking, re-burning and stumping. When the land is cleared, ploughing with tractors is done, and then harrowing and leveling of the field is carried out.

When land clearing is finished, planting points are marked by pegging. The spacing depends on the variety and training system adopted. There are three training systems, Arbor, Kniffin and Y- type or Cordon.

Spacing

Spacing depends upon soil fertility, variety and training system. Normal spacing used in Myanmar is shown according to the training system.

Training Systems	Row spacing x plant spacing
Kniffin	3.03 m x 1.8 m
Arbor (or) Bower	3.03 m x 3.03 m
Y-type (or) Cordon	3.6 m x 2.4 m

Hole Making

Holes of 0.3 m x 0.3 m x 0.3 m are dug and the topsoil and subsoil is separated. Each hole is filled with 40 kg farmyard manure, 30 kg compost and topsoil. The manure is augmented with 4 kg bone meal and 2 kg of wood ash. Holes are irrigated two times daily and planting is done 15 days after irrigation. Posts are constructed according to the training systems used.

Planting

Grapes are planted from mid-October to February, which is the best period for establishing grapes in Myanmar. Normally planting is done in the evening. A small hole 15 cm wide and 30 cm deep is dug at the centre of the planting hole. The plastic bag is removed without damaging the soil core of the seedling. Then it is planted in the small hole gently and the soil is pressed down well. The level of the soil core of the cutting must be the same as that of the planting hole and deep planting or shallow planting should be avoided.

5. CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF VINEYARDS

The plants are irrigated at least once a week depending on the moisture of the soil.

· Cyan or Furadan is used to prevent termite damage.

· Hand weeding around the plants is done as necessary, weeding in inter rows is also done.

· Inter-cultivation is carried out occasionally using harrows or other cultivators.

· New shoots usually come out about one month after planting.

· When the vine is 30 cm long, it is tied to the poles already erected near the plant.

· The strongest shoot is left and other shoots are pruned and any new shoots are also pruned.

· At three months after planting, the weak plants that do not show normal growth are removed and replaced.

· Gap filling for dead plants is done if necessary. To get the required plant population it is important to plant in time with similar sized plants. If planting is late, those plants will not be able to compete with surrounding plants.

Training

There are three kinds of training systems in Myanmar. They are Arbor, Kniffin and Y-type or Cordon. Training systems depend on the growth habit of the variety and climatic conditions of the place where grapes are going to be planted.

If the grape variety has good growth and branching habit, Arbor system is used. When grape is grown in areas of less rainfall the Arbor system is preferred. As the grape growing areas of Myanmar are in the arid region of Central Myanmar, most of the farmers use the Arbor system. Kniffin and Y-type systems are used only in the State farms as an experimental study. If the area has higher rainfall and humidity, the Kniffin and Y-types should be used.

Arbor System

The height of the Arbor is 1.8 - 2.4 m, however 1.8 m is preferred because of convenience in pruning and other cultivation practices. The buds on the trunk of 1.8 m height are rubbed off leaving only the main stem. When the main stem reaches the top of the Arbor, it is cut out at the tip of the trunk. Then the shoots come out from the tip of the trunk, but they are not pruned unless they have abnormal growth. When the canes have grown long enough, topping is done at 1.5 m from central trunk.

Kniffin

In Myanmar, the four-cane Kniffin system is being tested. The trunk is cut at a height of 0.75 m and three canes are left to grow. Two canes are allowed to grow on the first wire, and one cane to grow up until the second wire where it is topped again to let the new canes come out. The canes are tied to the wires. The lateral four canes are cut at 0.9 m from the trunk. The main trunk is supported by a pole until the second year of growth.

Y-type or Cordon

The trunk is cut at a height of 1.2 m and the strongest two shoots are allowed to grow. These two canes are tied to the bottom wire of the Y, and are cut 1.2 m from the trunk. The new shoots that come out of the canes are allowed to grow, and are tied to the upper wires of the Y.

Pruning

There are two kinds of pruning practiced in the country - light pruning and heavy pruning. Light pruning is done occasionally to prune unwanted canes and leaves for better light penetration and removal of diseased canes. Heavy pruning is done two times a year. The first pruning is done in mid-October to mid-November and the second pruning in mid-March to mid-April.

In the first year of planting, some flower clusters that come out after the first pruning (mid-October - mid-November) are removed, and only a few clusters are left for evaluation of the fruit quality. Otherwise heavy fruiting in the first year will weaken the growth of the young vines. Commercial harvesting is done from the second year onwards.

If the trunk is wounded by some diseases or other means, it is cut leaving the healthy portion of the trunk and new shoots are allowed to grow and are trained again.

5.2 Application of Manure and Fertilizers

Basal application at planting

Farmyard manure	-	40 kg/plant
Compost	-	30 kg/plant
Bone meal	-	4 kg/plant
Ash	-	2 kg/plant

At 6 months age

Fertilizer mixture	- Urea	1 part
	TSP	3 part
	MOP	2 part

Application	- 115 g mixture/plant
	- 2 applications per year

2^nd Year onwards

Farmyard manure	-	10 kg/plant/application
Urea	-	130 g/plant/application
TSP	-	390 g/plant/application
MOP	-	520 g/plant/application

Fertilizer application is done at the pruning time.

5.3 Weeding

Hand weeding

-

Once in two months

5.4 Supplementary Irrigation

Rainy season	-	once per month
(June to October)
Winter season	-	2 times per month
(November to February)
Summer season	-	once per week
(March to May)
Irrigation method	-	Furrow irrigation,
		Basin irrigation

5.5 Pests and their Management

The major insect pests are termites, may-june beetles, and red spider mites. Other pests are bats, which destroy the fruits. Pests and their control are briefly shown below.

Pest	Control Measure
Termites	Cyan, Furadan
May-june beetle	Malathion
Red spider mites	Lime sulphur and Monochrotophos
Bats	Manual

5.6 Diseases and their Management

There are three major diseases of grapes in Myanmar. They are anthracnose or black spot, downy mildew and powdery mildew. Diseases and their control are shown below.

Disease	Control Measure
Anthracnose	Bordeaux mixture
	Copper Nordeaux
Downy mildew	Bordeaux mixture
	Copper Nordeaux
Powdery mildew	Lime sulphur
	Cumulus
	Labellite
	Topsin
	Dithane

5.7 Quality Improvement

GA3, at the rate of 45 ppm is used to increase berry size and cluster length. At flowering GA3 is sprayed; and young berries which are 3-4 weeks after flowering are dipped in GA 3 solution for a few seconds. Testing with GA 3 to produce seedless berries is underway.

6. HARVESTING AND YIELD

Irrigation is stopped one month before harvest to reduce water content of the berries, which will increase sugar percentage of the fruit. Manual harvesting is done when the berries are ripe enough. The peak season of production is February to May.

The total production of grapes in Myanmar is 8,310.09 tonnes from an area of 747.31 hectares giving an average yield of 11.12 t/ha. The low yields are due to lack of knowledge of the growers about the training and pruning practices and disease control measures. The poor quality of grapes in Myanmar is due to diseases, especially powdery mildew and variety.

7. MARKETING

There is no export or import of grapes in Myanmar. The local demand is always higher than production. The harvested grapes are sent to the two main purchase depots in Mandalay (Upper Myanmar) and Yangon (Lower Myanmar). From those main centres, grapes are sold at retail prices in small shops and roadside stalls.

8. POTENTIAL FOR GRAPE PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT

There is potential for the development of grape production by area extension and yield improvement. Grapes can be extended in the divisions of Central Myanmar such as Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing Divisions.

Moreover, there would be a substantial increase in production of grapes if the growers are educated in the training and pruning techniques and given high yielding quality grape varieties.

9. CONSTRAINTS IN GRAPE PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT

There are some constraints for yield increase and area extension of grapes in Myanmar. Lack of technical knowledge such as training and pruning is a major factor that contributes to low yield. Fungus diseases are also difficult to control because the outbreaks of these are dependent upon weather conditions. Therefore, variation of yield losses due to diseases is observed every year. Lack of high yielding varieties of good quality is also a factor contributing to low yield.

The most important factor for extension of grapes is the high investment cost for the establishment of vineyards. The establishment costs for the first year are shown below.

Training System	Cost per hectare
Arbor	3,200,000 kyats
Kniffin	370,000 kyats
Y-type	490,000 kyats

10. GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PLANS FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPES

It is realized that research investigations are essential for the development of the grape crop. Therefore, the Government is planning to promote research programmes. At present, some simple research programmes have been started in the State Farms.

- Germplasm collections.
- Comparison of training systems.
- Live-post substitution in training systems.
- Compost and fertilizer trials.
- Mulching techniques.
- Irrigation systems.
- Methods to increase fruit quality.
- Off-season fruit production.
- Top-working techniques.
- Stock and scion relationship.
- Effects of GA.3.
- Weed control techniques.

· To promote production of grapes, agricultural education is needed by training, field visits, demonstration plots, workshops, and by other media.

· High yielding varieties of good quality should be introduced and adaptability trials carried out in different regions.

· Effective and feasible cultivation techniques should be investigated for higher production.

· Agro-climatic conditions should be studied in conjunction with methods for efficient control of major diseases.

· Study tours are needed to improve the knowledge of the government staff.