The production of 'Niagara Rosada' in the off season is an excellent option for the region of Jales, São Paulo State, Brazil, due the difficulty of emission and development of the sprout after the pruning, carried through in the months of occurrence of lower temperatures (< 10ºC), that has caused small productions among the grape growers. So to solve this problem, six experiments in the years of 2001 and 2002 had been conducted with the objective to verify the effect of ethephon applied before the pruning, on the number of clusters and production. Four levels (0; 3; 6 and 9L.ha-1) of ethephon applied by foliar via had been tested. It was concluded that the use of ethephon provided the increasing of the number of clusters and the productivity of 'Niagara Rosada', especially with the occurrence of favorable climatic conditions and with satisfactory degree of foliage. The use of ethephon in the dose of 9L.ha-1 provided to increase the productivity in 'Niagara Rosada' in the period between harvests.
Vitis sp; growth regulator; sprout; ethephon
