Hail damage to vineyards. What are your best steps to recovery?

1. Assess the damage

• Check extent: Look at how many shoots are broken vs. stripped, whether canes are intact, and how much green tissue is left.

• Timing matters: Early-season hail (pre-flowering) is less catastrophic than near-veraison hail, when vines have invested more energy into fruit.

• Mark worst blocks or rows for more focused management or re-training later.

2. Prevent disease infection

Hail wounds are an open door for Botrytis, Downy, Powdery, and bacterial infections.

• Within 24–48 hours:

  
  

  • Apply a broad-spectrum fungicide

  
  

  • Add a systemic or translaminar fungicide, if wet conditions follow.

• Avoid sulphur immediately post-hail — it can irritate damaged tissue. Wait 7–10 days before resuming sulphur sprays.

• Then re-spray every 7–10 days until new growth hardens.

3. Support regrowth

• Foliar feeds: Apply a kelp based spray at a low rate or amino acid biostimulant to reduce stress and promote shoot reactivation.

• Low-rate urea (0.5–1%) foliar spray or balanced NPK + trace elements can help rebuild canopy.

• Avoid overfeeding nitrogen, which can make new shoots too lush and disease-prone.

• If the canopy is to far gone, don’t push for a crop this year — focus on rebuilding the vine.

4. Canopy management

• Remove completely shredded leaves and snapped shoots — they’ll just rot and host disease.

• Leave partially damaged shoots if they still have green tissue and a viable bud — they may reshoot.

• Once new secondary shoots emerge, train them carefully to replace lost canopy.

5. Water and nutrition

• Maintain steady soil moisture; avoid stress while the vine is rebuilding.

• Check for rootzone nutrition — magnesium, potassium, and calcium are critical for cell repair and photosynthesis recovery.

6. Longer-term recovery

• Expect a reduced crop next season if canes or buds for next year were damaged.

• Focus on wood maturity and balanced growth through summer and autumn.

• After leaf-fall, prune lightly — avoid removing too much wood as reserves will be lower.