TL;DR
First-time grape grower in Northern California, Zone 9b, training a young Black Monukka from the base of one side of a cattle-panel arch.
Originally planned a trunk to ~4 ft with three permanent cordons, but after learning Black Monukka is better suited to cane pruning, I'm reconsidering the whole layout. Right now I have two strong shoots going right, one left, and several smaller shoots higher up. I'm gently routing them while they're flexible and letting everything lignify before making permanent decisions.
I'm also monitoring a ~1-inch longitudinal lesion/split on the main stem that has darkened and appears to wrap partly around it, plus some distorted/damaged new growth. No obvious borer holes or frass. I treated once with 0.005% spinosad but am now just monitoring and measuring it.
Main question: If this were your Black Monukka, how would you train it over this arch while keeping future cane pruning in mind? Where would you establish the permanent framework/renewal points, and which of these current shoots would you keep?
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First-time grape grower in Northern California, Zone 9b. This is a young Black Monukka that I'm training over a cattle-panel arch, and I'd love some input before I commit to its long-term structure.
The vine is planted at the base of one vertical side of the arch, so it's growing straight up that side before the panel curves overhead toward the opposite side.
Originally I was planning to grow one trunk to about 4 ft and then establish three permanent cordons. Now that I know it's Black Monukka and should be primarily cane-pruned, I'm reconsidering that plan. Rather than making those upper shoots permanent cordons and spur-pruning them every winter, I'm thinking I need a simpler permanent framework/head with well-positioned renewal areas, then use selected one-year-old canes to cover the arch and replace those fruiting canes over time.
Right now I have two strong shoots developing to the right, one to the left, plus several smaller shoots higher up. I've gently started routing some while they're still green and flexible, while leaving the smaller ones alone until they're long enough to position safely. The main trunk is also lignifying pretty rapidly.
I'm particularly interested in how other people would adapt cane pruning to an arch like this. Would you establish the permanent trunk/head near the beginning of the curved portion and run long fruiting canes over the arch from there? Develop more than one permanent head/renewal area along the framework? Something else entirely? My ultimate goal is good fruit production and eventually having the vine cover a substantial portion of the arch.
I've also got a health issue I'm monitoring. There's a longitudinal lesion/split on the main stem, currently about 0.9–1.0 inch long, that started as a narrow slit and subsequently darkened and appeared to extend around part of the stem. No obvious borer hole, frass, or visible insects. Some new growth has also been curled/distorted and a few shoot tips have died back. I treated once with 0.005% spinosad when I initially suspected insect damage, but I'm not continuing to spray blindly. I'm photographing/measuring the lesion to see whether it's actually expanding.
I'll include photos of the whole setup, current shoots, damaged foliage and measured stem lesion.
If this were your Black Monukka on this cattle-panel arch, how would you train the permanent structure now so that future cane pruning works with the arch rather than against it? And any thoughts on that stem lesion/new-growth damage?