cincturing, viticultural practice involving removing, with a knife or special tool, a ring (3 to 8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide) of conducting tissue (phloem) around a trunk, cane, or shoot, normally to improve fruit set. Also called girdling or ringing in English and incision annulaire in French, the technique is more widely used for table grapes than for wine production, which can rarely justify the necessary labour cost. Cincturing stops both the upwards and downwards flow of nutrients and plant hormones, until the wound heals over.
