(11-06-2020, 05:16 PM)Jags Wrote: That’s one sexy machine there.

Is that the only route you’ve got? Are there other manufacturers?  I heard of many people  taking one piece of equipment and modify it to do what they need it to since they don’t make many or any equipment  their searching for.   Idk how common that is that you’re looking for.

There's plenty of routes but I'm basically trying to strike the best balance between water usage, production (plant spacing), and ease of harvest. 

The 225k harvest machine will allow me to fully maximize the other two areas but I could also narrow the trellis structure, give away some production, and get away with a 60k machine. But over the next 20 years which would be better off?

The UC people are encouraging me to not use a trellis at all and cut the row spacing in half. That would solve the equipment troubles but I'm fearful of the amount of water that would need over the next 20 years. 

They developed a new grape variety about 4 years ago so all this is pretty new. We have some pruning methods established but don't have good production data for this grape so I'm basically guestimating the largest piece of the puzzle. Oh, and I'm also going to put them on a rootstock no one has used before. And I'll only get one shot at it 

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