Green berries on Gewürztraminer (Vitis vinifera L.) in South Tyrol (Italy)

Cover crops are increasingly considered in Mediterranean climate vineyards due to a combination of agronomic and regulatory considerations. However, the soil under the vines themselves is typically kept free of vegetation by mechanical plowing or herbicide spraying. Taking into account that these practices may convey a number of non-favourable economic and environmental implications, and the fact that drip irrigation can ease the use of cover crops under the vines, the aim of this work was to evaluate the agronomic implications and the changes in soil physical and biological properties caused by an under-vine cover crop in a Mediterranean area.

Trichoderma is one of the most widely used fungal biocontrol agents on vineyards due to its multiple benefits on this crop, such as its fungicidal and growth promoting capacity. In this work, we have analyzed the effect on the concentration of nutrients in grapevine leaves and on the quality of the grape must after spraying an autochthonous strain of Trichoderma harzianum and one of the main secondary metabolites produced by this genus, 6-pentyl-α-pyrone (6PP).

L’AOC Priorat, située derrière les montagnes du pré littoral de Tarragone, se caractérise par un climat méditerranéen avec une tendance à la continentalité et très peu de précipitation pendant le cycle végétatif. Les sols sont secs, pauvres et caillouteux, formés par des schistes. Au cours des années 2000 et 2001, une étude de l’influence du terroir sur la typicité des vins du Priorat a été réalisée en prenant comme référence trois cépages cultivés dans différentes parceIles pour mesurer l’effet du terroir et du mésoclimat sur la qualité des vins:

The European Green Deal, a concept of the European Commission, aims at the reduction of pesticides in EU agriculture for 2030 by 50%. Viticulture uses the largest amounts of fungicides in the EU

Fungicide spraying is a common viticultural practice that occurs throughout the growth season that protects developing vines and bunches against diseases caused by fungi or oomycetes.