The 3-4 vines are trained clockwise around the twine. Baling twine is used because it can support the weight of the plant and the coarse hairs of the hop vines can grip it. The hop vines are trained until the vines reach the top of the trellis. Once the vines reach the top of the trellis the vines produce side branches where cones will be produced. At several points during the growing season the plants must be pruned as the rhizome will continue to produce vines.
Hops have a large leaf area and have a significant water requirement.
This was done due to the considerable leaf area of the plants and the appearance of what appeared to be moisture stress in previous years. During the 1994 and 1995 growing seasons applications of CaNo3 were also made to the plants. Spider mites, Japanese Beetles, leaf hoppers, European corn borer, and hop merchant have all been encountered during previous growing seasons. During the 1997 growing season leafhoppers were the most significant insect pest encountered. Several applications of insecticide were required to control leafhoppers.