Growth Stages of the Grapevine: Adoption of a system for identifying grapevine growth stages

The foregoing paper by Lorenz et al. (1995), translated into English by P. May, describes a new system for the identification of grapevine growth stages called the BBCH system. This is an adaptation, for the grapevine, of a basic scale developed to cover all monocot and dicot crops. Appraisal of this and two other systems has led to a preference for that by Eichhorn and Lorenz (1977) but with some amendments. These amendments are discussed and a new system of measurement and description of stages of the grapevine is proposed which copes with the dual needs for a simple listing of major stages and, at the same time, provides intermediate detailed stages. It is called the Modified E-L system.