The Richard Smart Vineyard Scorecard can be used from veraison to harvest to assess the quality of canopies.

• Mark IV Vineyard Scorecard.pdf

In order to obtain data for this scorecard, a point quadrat technique can be used:

• A sharpened metal rod is stabbed 50 times into the canopy at right angles in the fruit zone in random areas.
• Contacts with leaves (L), clusters (C) and canopy gaps (G) are noted.
  

  % canopy gaps = Number of Gs / 50 x 100
  Optimum 40% canopy gaps

  Mean leaf layer number = Total number of Ls / 50
  Optimum 1 – 1.5 leaves

  Fruit exposure = Number of external Cs / Total number of Cs x 100
  Optimum 60% fruit exposure

Other methods of assessing canopy quality include:

• Sun-fleck assessment: measuring the amount of sunlight falling on a thin ruler inserted into the fruit zone
• Measuring leaf areas: pick 20 random leaves, cut disc from them, weigh the leaves and the discs and calculate the leaf area using:
  

  Weight leaves / Weight discs = Area leaves / Area discs

  This can be used to measure the ratio of leaf area/crop weight (cm²/g):

  Low = <5, Moderate = 8 – 12, High = >20