GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 Survey assessing different practices for mechanical winter pruning in Southern France vineyards

Survey assessing different practices for mechanical winter pruning in Southern France vineyards

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study – Winter pruning is today the longest operation for hand workers in the vineyard. Over the last years, mechanical pruning practices have become popular in southern France vineyards to respond to competitiveness issue especially for the basic and mid-range wine production. Wine farmers have developed different vineyard management techniques associated with mechanical winter pruning. They sought to be precise or not to control the buds number per vine. They maintained the vertical trellis system or grew the vine on a free cordon. They transformed the vineyard in minimal pruning system. The purpose of this survey was to assess a state of the practices in southern France vineyards, around 255 000 ha, which 2/3 are producing basic and mid-range wines.

Material and methods –  The survey was built on two steps. The first one was a qualitative follow-up with individual interviews on targeted winegrowers or cooperative’s technical managers who have been leaders in mechanical winter pruning development. These interviews allowed to build the second step survey. This second step consisted in a quantitative approach with an online questionnaire for winegrowers. It was composed by 43 to 63 closed-ended questions, with different fields such as farm characteristics, vineyard and soil management, vine-plot description and mechanical pruning operations. Statistical treatments were run with Addinsoft XLStat software.

Results – Results showed that there are three main mechanical pruning (mechaP) practices: a precise and a hedge mechaP, leaving lengths of branches respectively inferior or superior to 20 cm above the cordon line, and at last a minimal pruning system with few trimming operations on the canopy. Precise mechaP appears to be the most used technique with around 80% of the responses followed by the minimal pruning system, 15% of the responses, and the hedge mechaP with 5%. 56% of the estates are using mechanical pruning combined with trellised vertical shoot positioning (VSP) system, 22% with the free cordon system and 22% are using both systems.
Economic save is the main motivation to develop mechaP, due to the time save with winter pruning, followed by the difficulty to find handwork forces. The main gain observed by the producers due to mechaP is the increase and the regularity of the yield that impact positively the turnover per hectare. Finally, they consider that mechaP allows a better staff management due to time savings during the winter operations in the vineyard and a global increase of the economic value of the production.

DOI:

Publication date: March 11, 2024

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Poster

Authors

Thierry DUFOURCQ1,2, Elodie GASSIOLLE1, Denis CABOULET3, Thierry GRIMAL4, Bernard GENEVET6, Nathalie GOMA-FORTIN6, Christophe GAVIGLIO2

1 IFV Sud-Ouest, Château de Mons, 32100 Caussens, France
2 IFV Sud-Ouest, V’innopôle, 81 310 Lisle Sur Tarn, France
3 IFV Rhône-Méditerranée, Domaine de Pech Rouge, 11430 Gruissan, France.
4 Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Aude, Domaine de Cazes, 11240 Alaigne, France
5 Chambre d’Agriculture du Gard, Mas des Abeilles, 30900 Nîmes, France
6 Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Hérault, Mas de Saporta, 34970 Lattes, France

Contact the author

Keywords

survey, mechanical pruning, minimal pruning, southern France vineyard

Tags

GiESCO | GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Advances in the chemistry of rosé winemaking and ageing

The market share of Rosé wine in France has grown from 11 % to 32 % over the last 20 years. Current trends are towards rosé wines of a lighter shade of pink, and where possible, containing a greater concentration in varietal thiols. Grape varieties, the soil on which they are grown, viticultural practices and winemaking technology all impact the polyphenols, color and aromas of rosé wines.

First characterization of Torrontés Riojano in la Rioja, Argentina: impact of pruning intensity on vine vigor and grape production 

Pruning is one essential vineyard management activity whose main purpose is to regulate plant growth and vigour, modulating berry size, and consequently, wine quality. In Chilecito, La Rioja Province, Argentina, Torrontés Riojano stands as the only autochthonous variety for winemaking, yielding golden and aromatic berries and distinctive muscatel-tasting wines. This white cultivar, resulting from the natural cross between Moscatel de Alejandría x Criolla Chica, is traditionally trained in “parral” (horizontal trellis system), aimed to manage vigorous canopies. This project constitutes the first study on the influence of pruning intensity on Torrontés Riojano growth habit and berry quality.

Grapevine cane pruning extract enhances plant physiological capacities and decreases phenolic accumulation in canes and leaves 

Vine cane extracts are a valuable byproduct due to their rich content of polyphenols, vitamins, and other beneficial compounds, which can affect and benefit the vine and the grapes. This study aims to evaluate the response of grapevine plants to irrigation with water supplemented with a vine cane extract, both at physiology response and phenolic composition in different parts of the plant (root, trunk, shoot, leaf, and berry).
Cane extract was obtained by macerating crushed pruning residues with warm water (5:1) and pectolytic enzymes. Two-year-old potted plants were irrigated with water (Control) while others were irrigated with cane extracts, either at 1:4 (w/v, cane extract/water; T 1:4) or at 1:8 (w/v, cane extract/water; T 1:8).

Characterization of vineyard sites for quality wine production using meteorological, soil chemical and physical data

The quality of grapevines measured by yield and must density in the northern part of Europe -conditions can be characterized as a type of “cool climate” – vary strongly from year to year and from one production site to another, i.e. différences in must densities can range from 30 to 50 °Oe. An explanation may be changes of weather conditions during critical developmental stages of the grapevines (2, 3, 5). These can be categorized as “macro climatic” influences.

Mobilizing endogenous transposable elements for grapevine improvement: a genomic and epigenomic approach in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Efforts to improve the New Zealand wine industry’s climate resilience and sustainability through grapevine improvement are limited by germplasm availability and a reliance on Sauvignon Blanc exports. To address this, we are working to generate a population of 12,000 individuals with unique genetic traits, from which to select future clones for major export varieties.

Sauvignon Blanc plantlets are being regenerated from embryogenic callus, using an approach designed to mobilise endogenous transposable elements as mutagens.