Development and formation of viticulture during the Soviet era

Among countries with developed viticulture, our country, despite the limited number of zones favorable for this industry, occupies one of the leading places. The Soviet Union holds third place in terms of the area occupied by vineyards and gross grape production, and second in the production of table grapes. This became possible only under Soviet rule.

In 1913, Russia had only 125,000 hectares of vineyards, 60% of which belonged to small peasant farms. Viticulture was characterized by extreme fragmentation of plots, a random composition of cultivars, and was conducted at a very low level; all work in the vineyards was performed manually.

By the beginning of the recovery period (1921), the area of vineyards was 132,000 hectares. In the subsequent period, it began to expand, while the structure of the economy changed simultaneously. By 1940, 146 large specialized viticultural state farms had been created, and the total area under grape plantations reached 425,000 hectares.

During the Great Patriotic War, over 240,000 hectares of vineyards were in the territory temporarily occupied by German-fascist invaders, which caused great damage to the viticulture of Moldova, Ukraine, and the North Caucasus. As a result, the area under vineyards, which turned out to be heavily neglected, was significantly reduced. In the post-war period, in accordance with the decree of the February (1947) Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b), the revival of viticulture began. It experienced particularly rapid development in the 50s. During this period, the areas of grape plantations increased in the Ukrainian SSR by 196,000 hectares, the Moldavian SSR by 183, the Azerbaijan SSR by 155, and the RSFSR by 134,000 hectares.

An important feature of the development of viticulture during this period was the change in the structure of grape plantations, which began to be laid out in large arrays with cultivars better suited to specific conditions; the levels of agricultural techniques and the mechanization of labor-intensive processes increased. However, viticulture in this period developed mainly along an extensive path — through an increase in acreage.

In parallel with the expansion and strengthening of the material and food base of the viticulture industry in our country, there was a process of formation and development of scientific institutions, which in most republics with developed viticulture began to be created in the late 20s and early 30s.

During the years of Soviet power, 11 scientific research institutes for viticulture were created in 8 union republics. In Tsarist Russia, there was not a single higher educational institution for training highly qualified agronomist-viticulturists.

Currently, 12 higher educational institutions and a large number of technical schools and colleges are engaged in their training.

In the last three five-year plans, there has been a steady development of the viticulture industry. Thus, if the average annual gross harvest of grapes in the ninth five-year plan was 4,396,000 tons, and in the tenth — 5,586,000 tons, then in the eleventh it was 7,406,000 tons, with a yield of 5.4, 6.3, and 7 t/ha, respectively. The increase in gross grape production occurred mainly due to an increase in yield. Simultaneously, the areas under vineyards expanded, and the range of cultivars and cultivation technology were improved. Viticulture began to develop along the path of industrial integration, concentration, specialization, and intensification of production.

The total area of vineyards in the USSR (at the end of 1985) is 1,265,000 hectares, of which 1,146,000 hectares (90.5%) are in the public sector and are part of the system of the State Agro-Industrial Committee of the USSR. The main part of them (876,000 hectares) is concentrated in state farms. There are about 120,000 hectares of vineyards in the private sector.

Taking into account the biological characteristics of the grape plant and, primarily, its high demand for heat, grapes are grown in the southern zones of our country. Commercial grape cultivation is located in 11 republics of our country, divided into 3 regions: European, Transcaucasian, and Central Asian.

The largest of them, the European region, includes 3 republics: the RSFSR, Moldova, and Ukraine. 48.5% of all grape plantations in the country are concentrated here.

Next is the Transcaucasian region, which includes Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. The total area of vineyards here is 33.8%. The leading role in this region belongs to Azerbaijan, which ranks first in the country in terms of the area of grape plantations and grape production. The development of viticulture in the Azerbaijan SSR is characterized by high rates. Thus, if in 1940 the area of vineyards here was 33,000 hectares, then in 1970 it was 121,600, and in 1980 — 263,000 hectares, meaning it increased more than 2 times from 1970 to 1980. No other country in the world knows such rates of viticulture development.

The third place belongs to the Central Asian region, which includes Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The southern part of Kazakhstan is also territorially adjacent to this region. The total area of vineyards in the region is 17.7% of the area of grape plantations in our country.

Based on ecological factors, and primarily on heat availability, each of these regions is distinguished by its own specific features. Thus, the European region, with the exception of certain southern coastal areas (the Black Sea coast of the RSFSR and Ukraine, the Caspian coast of the Dagestan ASSR), is characterized by insufficient heat availability, which, in years with unfavorable weather conditions, negatively affects sugar accumulation in berries. In the vast majority of districts in this region, grape culture is grafted and non-irrigated. In the northern zone of the region, the air temperature in the winter period drops below the critical level, which causes damage to the bushes and necessitates covering them for the winter.

Heat availability in the Transcaucasian region is significantly higher than that of the European region. In Georgia and Azerbaijan, the culture is non-covering; in Armenia, it is covering in most of the republic's territory; in Georgia, it is entirely grafted; in Azerbaijan, it is own-rooted and grafted; in most districts of Armenia and Azerbaijan and some districts of Eastern Georgia, it is irrigated.

A special place is occupied by the viticulture of the Central Asian region, located in the southernmost zone of the country and having the highest heat availability (sum of active temperatures 4000–5000°C).

A distinctive feature of viticulture in this region is the absence of phylloxera, which allows for own-rooted culture. With few exceptions, the grape culture is irrigated, which ensures high and stable yields. However, due to the occurrence of individual severe winters and the drop in air temperature at these times below the permissible critical limits, grape plantations in most districts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are covered for the winter.

The Central Asian region is characterized by a high proportion of high-quality table and seedless (kishmish) cultivars. The share of their plantations is:

This determines the specialization of the region's viticulture in the production of high-quality table grapes, seedless raisins (kishmish), and raisins.

The Central Asian republics, primarily Uzbekistan, are the country's main industrial base for the production of dried grapes, mainly kishmish, the raw material for which is grapes of seedless kishmish cultivars.

General coordination of scientific research on viticulture, conducted by research institutes, university departments, design bureaus, and other institutions, is carried out by the V. I. Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The main directive document defining the paths for the further development of viticulture is the "Basic Guidelines for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1986–1990 and for the Period up to 2000," approved by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which states: "To carry out a fundamental restructuring of the structure of viticulture in the union republics, orienting it primarily toward the production of table grape cultivars."

Table cultivars occupy 157 thousand hectares in our country, or 12.4% of the total area of grape plantations, and kishmish cultivars occupy 32.2 thousand hectares, or 1.8%. The average annual gross harvest of table grapes and dried products in the eleventh five-year plan amounted to 633.2 and 105.7 thousand tons, respectively, which is far from sufficient to fully provide for our country's population. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the twelfth five-year plan and the subsequent period is a sharp expansion of areas under table, kishmish, and raisin cultivars, and an increase in the production of table grapes and dried products.

In light of the decisions of the April (1985) Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee and the resolution of the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, the further development of viticulture must be carried out along the path of scientific and technical progress. The expansion of the area under grape plantations must be carried out taking into account scientifically based zonal placement of industrial grape culture, mainly in ecological zones that possess the most favorable conditions for growing grapes. Moreover, preference should be given to zones where non-covering culture is possible.

A fundamental problem in the development of modern viticulture is the renewal and improvement of the cultivar range in the direction of increasing its productivity, quality, and complex resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions (low temperatures, drought), diseases (downy mildew, gray mold, powdery mildew), and pests (primarily phylloxera). Obtaining fundamentally new cultivars possessing these valuable traits and introducing them into production will allow for the abandonment of grafted and covering grape culture and eliminate pesticide treatments from plant care practices, which will sharply reduce the costs of growing grapes and contribute to protecting the environment from pollution.

Breeding work to create such cultivars is successfully underway in most of our country's republics. A whole group of cultivars is already undergoing State cultivar testing; these are not inferior in quality to standard cultivars and possess increased biological resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions, pests, and diseases.

Along with this, new cultivars must meet a number of requirements:

• to be distinguished by high productivity and product quality;
• to possess high ecological plasticity (the ability to grow and produce high yields under various natural conditions);
• to be responsive to fertilizers and irrigation;
• to be suitable for industrial cultivation technologies (mechanization of pruning, harvesting, etc.).

Creating new cultivars with desirable traits is only the first part of the task at hand. No less important is their large-scale testing on the country's collective and state farms and their accelerated introduction into production.

An important role belongs to the production of nursery plants, the development and improvement of cultivation technologies for grafted and own-rooted nursery plants, and accelerated methods for growing nursery plants of valuable new and introduced cultivars.

An acute shortage of labor in the industry necessitates the search for and development of labor- and energy-saving industrial technologies for grape cultivation and agricultural practices designed to minimize manual labor costs.

Vine Training and Mechanization of Labor-Intensive Processes

In the non-covering zone of viticulture, the transition to high-trunk wide-row culture with free shoot positioning allows for the maximum realization of the plants' biological potential. With such a planting scheme, the leaf canopy is illuminated evenly, which stimulates photosynthesis. As a result, assimilation products are distributed more rationally, being directed toward the development of generative organs.

The transition to wide-row culture provides farms with several important advantages:

• manual tying and pinching of green shoots are eliminated;
• labor costs for the removal of sterile shoots are reduced;
• it becomes possible to use standard tractors and agricultural machinery in wide row spacings.

In the zone of covering viticulture, unilateral vine forms on a modified trellis allow for a reduction in the share of manual labor. Such training systems have been developed by domestic research institutes for mechanized covering and uncovering of vines using a special system of machines. This simplifies the maintenance of plantings in regions with severe winters.

Despite the introduction of machinery, viticulture remains a labor-intensive industry where most of the work is performed manually. The main time expenditures are associated with vine care and harvesting. Reducing the share of manual labor remains the main task for industry technologists.

The most labor-intensive maintenance operation remains pruning — it requires about 20 man-days per hectare. The use of PAV-8 units with pneumatic secateurs facilitates the work, but the problem is fundamentally solved only by full mechanization of pruning. Active work on creating specialized machines and developing agricultural requirements is ongoing.

Intensification of Production: Irrigation and Growth Regulators

To reduce the dependence of the harvest on weather conditions, grape farms need to develop irrigation and land reclamation. No less important a factor remains a competent system of plant nutrition, which must take into account the ecological conditions of a specific site. Only an integrated approach to reclamation and soil fertilization guarantees a stable result.

The use of modern growth regulators has become one of the most accessible ways to quickly increase vineyard productivity. These preparations affect the physiological processes of plants and reduce the need for manual operations. The introduction of stimulants allows for a significant increase in yield without expanding areas.

• Yield increase of seedless cultivars from gibberellin — 40–50% or more
• Yield increase from chlormequat chloride (Tur, CCC) — 35–40%
• Increase in labor productivity during machine harvesting — 20-fold

Mechanization also affects harvesting — a process that was traditionally performed only by hand. Development and testing of domestic grape harvesters have been underway since the 60s. Currently, new equipment is undergoing extensive production testing in various climatic zones before mass introduction.