Winemaker toasts successful timer-saving invention

NUMBER 8 GENIUS: Douglas Haynes of Hawkes Ridge Wine Estate with his prizewinning de-budding spray unit. Labrador Trinity aka Doodle finds the sprayer handy for rabbit patrol.PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR HBT114145-01

The last frontier for many grape growers is time, says David Lingan of Etec Crop Solutions.

He knew his de-budding spray, which removes lower grape vine growth, was a timesaver but he said growers needed motivation to rig up a spray system to avoid the higher cost of commercial contractors.

De-budding grapevine root stocks by hand is a back-breaking job few take on with enthusiasm, Mr Lingan said.

"People just hate bud rubbing but do it because there are not a lot of jobs around at that time of year - sometimes they say they will do it on the condition they are kept on for other work," he said.

"Most growers do not have the time to tinker in the tool shed. So we offered a six burner barbecue for the best home-built sprayer as an extra incentive. The barbecue was the motivation, otherwise people tend to sit on their hands - most growers already have 60 or 70 per cent of the equipment needed.

He said Shark spray did a better job than hand rubbing. "You get the buds just starting to come through that the labourers do not see."

De-budding is needed for the vast majority of New Zealand vines, which are grafted on to North American root stocks.

Native North American vines are resistant to the sap-sucking aphid Phylloxera. The tiny yellow American varmint feeds on the roots and leaves of vines and is prevalent in New Zealand. It destroyed most European vineyards in the late 19th century until they were grafted.

Winner of the Etec competition was Douglas Haynes of Hawkes Ridge Wine Estate in Maraekakaho. He said the barbecue was nice, but that is not why he built his spray unit.

"The real incentive was time - it paid for itself in the first application."

There were also synergies. "We already weed spray our vineyard. I made a double row weed sprayer at the same time and added some guards to it for the Shark.

"I suspect it has saved me 10 days in the vineyard, which is phenomenal for us."

Residues are low and temporary, due to the spray breaking down at a molecular level.

"It breaks down even better than glyphosate. We are really careful about what we spray - we try to be as clean as we can and protect the environment. Three generations live on the property and the kids are always running around the vines."

Hawkes Ridge started making their own wine in 2008. They had been contract growers from 2001 when Mr Haynes ditched the corporate life in Auckland to return to his Hawke's Bay roots.

"Our whole business has gone from growing grapes to making and selling wine. We spend so much time on the road selling wine we just don't have as much time in the vineyard."

The sales task is made easier because they are are part of Triangle Cellars in Bridge Pa. It is a co-operative cellar door shared with Bridge Pa Vineyard and Bushhawk Vineyard. "It's great, it means we don't have to spend every weekend tied down selling wine."

His spray vehicle is a converted Suzuki van. "A local panelbeater took off all the panels, reinforced the chassis and put platforms on it. It was part of a deceased estate - we bought all three."

Grower-made de-budding spray machines are not new in Hawke's Bay.

"Sileni built one last year and it looks pretty flash. They would have won it last year if we had run the competition," Mr Lingan said.