terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Effects of organic mulches on the soil environment and yield of grapevine

Effects of organic mulches on the soil environment and yield of grapevine

Abstract

Farming management practices aiming at conserving soil moisture have been developed in arid and semiarid-areas facing water scarcity problems. Organic mulching is an effective method to manipulate the crop-growing microclimate increasing crop yield by controlling soil temperature, and retaining soil moisture by reducing soil evaporation. In this sense, the effectiveness of different organic mulching materials (straw mulch and grapevine pruning debris) applied within the row of a vineyard was evaluated on the soil and on the vine in a Tempranillo vineyard located in La Rioja (Spain). Organic mulches were compared with a traditional bare soil management technique (based on the use of herbicides to avoid weed incidence). Mulching coverages favourably influenced the soil water retention throughout all the grapevine vegetative cycle. However, the soil-moisture variation was not the same under different mulching materials, being the straw mulch (SM) the one that retained more water in comparison with grapevine pruning debris (GPD) based-cover. The changes of soil moisture in the upper surface layer (0–10 cm) were highly dynamic, probably due to water vapour fluxes across the soil-atmospheric interface. However, both, SM and GPD reduced these fluctuations as compared with bare soils. A similar trend occurred with soil temperature. Both organic mulches altered soil temperature in comparison with bare soil by reducing soil temperature in summer and raising it in winter. Moreover, the same buffering effect for the temperature on the covered soil also remains in the deeper layers. To conclude, we could see that organic mulching had a positive impact on soil-moisture storage and soil temperature and the extent of this effect depends on the type of mulching materials. These changes led to higher rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductivity compared to bare soils, also favouring crop growth and grape yields.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: May 31, 2022

Issue: Terclim 2022

Type: Poster

Authors

Alicia Pou1, Andreu Mairata1, David Labarga1, Miguel Puelles1, Enrique García-Escudero1 and Joaquín Huete2

1ICVV, Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (CSIC, Universidad de La Rioja, Gobierno de La Rioja), Spain
2Agro-climatic Information Service of La Rioja (SIAR), Gobierno de La Rioja, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

mulching, bare soil, soil moisture, soil temperature, grape yield

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terclim 2022

Citation

Related articles…

Inactivated yeasts: a case study for the future of precision enology

Yeasts serve as highly versatile tools in oenology. They do more than just perform alcoholic fermentation. Nowadays, yeasts from various species, naturally present in grapes, are selected for specific non-fermentative applications. For example, the use of selected non-saccharomyces at the early stage of winemaking has become a common practice to limit the growth of unwanted microorganisms. When inactivated, yeasts can be fractionated into soluble and insoluble fractions providing a wide range of benefits related to structural components or specific metabolites.

Read More

How the management of ph during winemaking affects acetaldehyde evolution and the formation of polymeric phenolics over the red wine aging

The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of pH on both the acetaldehyde chemistry and wine phenolics evolution over the aging period. In addition, the effect of both an early and late acidification was evaluated

Read More

Enhancing plant defense: carbon dots for efficient spray-induced gene silencing 

Ectopic RNA application for plant defense faces challenges in tree crops, including size, diffusion, and stability of active compounds such as ribonucleoproteins and nucleic acids. While existing strategies involve expressing dsRNA in transgenic plants targeting pathogens, our research strives to develop a transient RNAi system based on Spray-Induced Gene Silencing (SIGS). This approach aims to circumvent legal barriers and public concerns associated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Our strategy integrates SIGS with branched polyethyleneimine-functionalized Carbon Dots (bPEI-CDs) as nanocarriers, effectively addressing unique delivery challenges in plant defense as RNA stability and uptake enhancement

Read More

Grapevine, berry and soil Indicators to manage minimal irrigation strategy in semi-arid conditions: example of Grenache noir (Vitis vinifera L.)

Context and purpose of the study. Climate change in many Mediterranean wine-growing regions is resulting in lower rainfall and higher reference evapotranspiration, generally leading to reduced water availability for vines.

Read More

Evaluation of terroir suitability for vine cultivation in new areas using geographic multi-criteria decision support

Based on historical vine cultivation, the recent development of wine production in Drama wine region (Greece) has led to vine cultivation expansion of white and red varieties. The current cultivation of 500 ha of vineyards is expected to increase in the coming years. Natural terroir units (NTU) have been designed recently to support the production of high quality wines in the region [1]. The aim of this work is to evaluate the relevancy of the proposed NTUs regarding their suitability to produce wines of specific sensorial identity, and to provide guidelines for correct site selection for the expanding wine industry of the region.

Read More