Inter-row floor management is a powerful factor for optimising vine balance in a non-irrigated organic Barbera vineyard in northern Italy

Gatti, Matteo; Garavani, Alessandra; Squeri, Cecilia; Capri, Caterina; Diti, Irene; D’Ambrosio, R.; Frioni, Tommaso; Scotti, Carla; Poni, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.eja.2022.126490

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Hence, attention should be devoted to any factor that might restrict root water uptake, which can be negatively influenced by an overcropping status coupled with low soil fertility. The data reported by Gatti et al 98 for the same vineyard unit confirms a general source limitation (leaf area-to-yield ratio between 0.51 and 0.68 m 2 kg −1 , a low organic matter content [1.2% between 0 and 60 cm] and a scarce total N content [0.64‰]).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…Mirroring the solution envisaged for the previous case, we suspect that the actual soil depth was shallower than the assigned 1 m values. However, a previous work conducted in the same vineyard where the soil profile was studied 98 showed that a good homogeneous soil is found until 2 m depth, rendering unlikely the hypothesis of root growth restriction. Hence, attention should be devoted to any factor that might restrict root water uptake, which can be negatively influenced by an overcropping status coupled with low soil fertility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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A sensorless, Big Data based approach for phenology and meteorological drought forecasting in vineyards

Canavera,

Magnanini,

Lanzillotta

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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A web-based app was developed and tested to provide predictions of phenological stages of budburst, flowering and veraison, as well as warnings for meteorological drought. Such predictions are especially urgent under a climate change scenario where earlier phenology and water scarcity are increasingly frequent. By utilizing a calibration data set provided by 25 vineyards observed in the Emilia Romagna Region for two years (2021–2022), the above stages were predicted as per the binary event classification paradigm and selection of the best fitting algorithm based on the comparison between several metrics. The seasonal vineyard water balance was calculated by subtracting daily bare or grassed soil evapotranspiration (ETs) and canopy transpiration (Tc) from the initial water soil reservoir. The daily canopy water use was estimated through a multiple, non-linear (quadratic) regression model employing three independent variables defined as total direct light, vapor pressure deficit and total canopy light interception, whereas ETS was entered as direct readings taken with a closed-type chamber system. Regardless of the phenological stage, the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model minimized the prediction error, which was determined as the root mean square error (RMSE) and found to be 5.6, 2.3 and 8.3 days for budburst, flowering and veraison, respectively. The accuracy of the drought warnings, which were categorized as mild (yellow code) or severe (red code), was assessed by comparing them to in situ readings of leaf gas exchange and water status, which were found to be correct in 9 out of a total of 14 case studies. Regardless of the geolocation of a vineyard and starting from basic in situ or online weather data and elementary vineyard and soil characteristics, the tool can provide phenology forecasts and early warnings of meteorological drought with no need for fixed, bulky and expensive sensors to measure soil or plant water status.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

A sensorless, Big Data based approach for phenology and meteorological drought forecasting in vineyards

Canavera,

Magnanini,

Lanzillotta

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…To fill this knowledge gap, we carried out a field trial in an organically-managed vineyard of Vitis vinifera L. cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon in the wine-growing district of the Euganean hills (Padua, north-eastern Italy). In most of the vineyards planted in Southern and North-Central Italy, experiencing frequent drought in summer, mowed resident vegetation is preferred to any sown cover crop [66,67]. On the contrary, in North-Eastern Italy, due to more favourable climate conditions, most of the planted vineyards, both organically-and conventionally-managed, already use cover crops or let the resident vegetation grow in the vineyard alleys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of inter-row herbaceous covers in a sloping, organic, non-irrigated vineyard

Pornaro

Meggio

Tonon³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Inter-row vegetation in vineyards is classified as a service crop as it provides many ecosystem services. The vegetation is often removed but maintaining them can mitigate the negative effects on the environment. However, the type of species or mixture choice can affect their success. A field trial was conducted in an organically-managed vineyard of Cabernet sauvignon Vitis vinifera L. cultivars in north-eastern Italy, in which three blends of grass species (Shedonorus arundinaceus, Lolium perenne and Festuca rubra) and two grass-legume mixtures were grown in the inter-rows and compared with resident vegetation and regularly tilled bare soil. Each vegetation type, including resident vegetation, was subjected to mulching and non-mulching treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of seeded species or mixtures in the inter-row spaces of the vineyard in north-Italy as an alternative management to resident vegetation and tilled soil. The experiment was conducted over two years to monitor the persistence of the sown vegetation and the influence of vegetation types on vine performance and grape composition, and on soil compaction and erosion. The relative abundances of each species, vegetation height, percentage green cover and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), vine shoot length, number of leaves per vine shoot, leaf area, bunch weight, vine NDVI, soil compaction and erosion, and depth and width of tractor tyre prints were measured. Over time, weed invasion altered the botanical composition of all vegetation types except for the S. arundinaceus blend, which remained stable throughout the study period. Our results showed that vine parameters were not affected by the type of vegetation in the inter-rows, nor were there differences between the grassed and bare soil inter-rows. Soil compaction and erosion, and tractor tyre prints were not directly affected by the type of vegetation cover, but they were affected by tillage in the plots with bare soil in the inter-rows or where it was used to prepare the soil for sowing. Soil compaction and erosion were related to the percentage vegetation cover. Mulching did not affect any of the parameters measured. Therefore, species selection plays a crucial role in inter-row vegetation management and in minimising environmental impacts. S. arundinaceus gave high protection against soil erosion due to its high persistence throughout the year and had the lowest growth rate thus requiring fewer cuttings.

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“…Conventional vineyard soil management affects soil properties 2 , 11 . Mechanical weeding may induce physical degradation of vineyard soils 7 , 12 , and modify soil biological communities at different trophic levels 13 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, following SOM loss, soil aggregates tend to break down more easily and soil erodibility worsens 9,10 . Lastly, surface runoff and resulting soil erosion are the main routes through which fertilizer and pesticide residues reach surface waters 8 .Conventional vineyard soil management affects soil properties 2,11 . Mechanical weeding may induce physical degradation of vineyard soils 7,12 , and modify soil biological communities at different trophic levels 13 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of fifteen cover crop species for orchard soil management: water uptake, root density traits and soil aggregate stability

Capri

Gatti

Fiorini

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Increasing the use of cover crops (CCs) is a necessity in sustainable viticulture, although it might clash with possible excessive competition towards vines. Especially in a climate-change scenario, the latter feature should be minimized while maintaining ecosystem services. Aimed at identifying CCs for vineyard floor management, the trial characterized several species according to their evapotranspiration (ET) rates, root growth patterns, and soil aggregate stability potential. The study was performed in 2020 in Piacenza (Northern Italy) on 15 CC species grown in pots kept outdoor and classified as grasses (GR), legumes (LE) and creeping (CR). Together with bare soil (control), they were arranged in a complete randomized block design. CCs ET was assessed through a gravimetric method, starting before mowing and then repeated 2, 8, 17 and 25 days thereafter. Above-ground dry biomass (ADW), root length density (RLD), root dry weight (RDW) and root diameter class length (DCL) were measured, and mean weight diameter (MWD) was calculated within 0–20 cm depth. Before mowing, ET was the highest in LE (18.6 mm day−1) and the lowest in CR (8.1 mm day−1) the latter being even lower than the control (8.5 mm day−1). The high ET rates shown by LE were mainly related to very fast development after sowing, rather than to a higher transpiration per unit of leaf area. After mowing, the 15 species’ ET reduction (%) plotted vs leaf area index (LAI, m2 m−2) yielded a very close fit (R2 = 0.94), suggesting that (i) a linear decrease in water use is expected anytime starting with an initial LAI of 5–6, (ii) a saturation effect seems to be reached beyond this limit. Selection of cover crop species to be used in the vineyard was mainly based on diurnal and seasonal water use rates as well as dynamic and extent of root growth patterns. Among GR, Festuca ovina stood out as the one with the lowest ET due to its “dwarfing” characteristics, making it suitable for a permanent inter-row covering. CR species confirmed their potential for under-vine grassing, assuring rapid soil coverage, lowest ET rates, and shallow root colonization.

show abstract

Inter-row floor management is a powerful factor for optimising vine balance in a non-irrigated organic Barbera vineyard in northern Italy

Cited by 10 publications

References 57 publications

A sensorless, Big Data based approach for phenology and meteorological drought forecasting in vineyards

A sensorless, Big Data based approach for phenology and meteorological drought forecasting in vineyards

Selection of inter-row herbaceous covers in a sloping, organic, non-irrigated vineyard

A comparative study of fifteen cover crop species for orchard soil management: water uptake, root density traits and soil aggregate stability

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