Aim of the study:
This study aims to evaluate the interest of using an under-vine cover crop as a sustainable management tool replacing herbicides or tillage to control weeds, evaluating its effects on yield and berry parameters in a semi-arid climate.
Methods and results:
- The performance of Trifolium fragiferum as an under-vine cover crop was evaluated in 2018 and 2019 in a Merlot vineyard in Traibuenas (Navarra, Spain).
- This trial showed that the soil under the vines was covered by 80 % of the cover crop in August 2018 and 100 % in Aug 2019, with clover (T. fragiferum) comprising around 26 % and 70 % of the cover crop surface, respectively.
- The presence of the cover crop only reduced the number of shoots in the second year, although both years there was an increment in water stress.
- Neither yield, cluster weight nor berry weight were affected by the presence of the under-vine cover crop.
- Similarly, no changes in grape composition were observed.
Significance of the study:
The use of T. fragiferum-like cover crops under the vine allows for better control of weeds, provided a good installation is achieved. In the first two years, this cover crop reduced vegetative growth and increased water deficit slightly. However, no changes in yield and grape composition were observed.
In a context of herbicide suppression and search for sustainable management, under-vine clover cover crops constitute a viable alternative in semi-arid regions provided drip irrigation can be applied.
Reference: Abad J., Diana M., L. Gonzaga S., José Félix C., & Ana S. (2020). Under-vine cover crops: impact on weed development, yield and grape composition: This article is published in cooperation with the XIIIth International Terroir Congress November 17-18 2020, Adelaide, Australia. Guest editors: Cassandra Collins and Roberta De Bei. OENO One, 54(4), 975-983.
Link to article: https://doi.org/10.20870/oeno-one.2020.54.4.4149
Image credit (clover): https://www.oneearth.org/the-various-advantages-of-clover/
This abstract is republished in its original form as permitted by the following Creative Commons licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
