Vineyard Management

What Happens to Vineyard Soil Compaction — and How Quickly Does It Come Back? Soil compaction is one of the less visible consequences of vineyard machinery traffic, but it can have a significant effect on the way water, oxygen and vine roots move through the soil profile. Every pass of a tractor, sprayer, harvester or truck applies pressure to the soil. Over time, repeated traffic can increase bulk density, reduce pore space, decrease infiltration and increase soil penetratio

Foliar kelp sprays are increasingly discussed as a possible tool for reducing frost injury in vineyards. The attraction is obvious: they are relatively inexpensive, easy to apply, and seaweed extracts contain a complex mixture of compounds that may influence plant water relations, osmotic adjustment, antioxidant activity and stress-response pathways. But there is an important distinction between improving cold hardiness and protecting a vineyard from a severe radiation frost.

Powdery mildew is one of the most persistent diseases confronting wine grape growers. Caused by Erysiphe necator, the disease can infect leaves, shoots, inflorescences and berries, with infections established early in the season capable of developing into significant disease pressure around flowering and fruit set. The challenge with powdery mildew is that by the time it becomes obvious in the vineyard, the grower may already be behind. This is why early-season control is so

Winter pruning is often viewed primarily as a way of controlling vine size and maintaining the structure of a vineyard. But for wine grape production, pruning is also the first major crop-load decision of the coming season. Every bud retained has the potential to produce a shoot, and each fruitful shoot has the potential to carry one or more inflorescences. Consequently, the number and position of buds retained at pruning establishes a significant proportion of the vine’s yie

When a vineyard is soil tested, the focus is often on the top 10–15 centimetres of soil. It is a logical place to start. This is where organic matter, fertiliser inputs, biological activity and much of the fine root activity are concentrated. But for an established vineyard, looking only at the surface can provide an incomplete picture of the soil environment the vine is actually growing in. Grapevines are capable of developing extensive root systems that explore considerably