Impact of pedoclimatical conditions on the precocity potential of vineyards in the canton of Geneva

Terroir studies are common nowadays but few have used precise pedoclimatic measures in order to evaluate the precocity potential. The objectives of this work were (i) to assess the effect of main terroir parameters (soil, climate and topography) influencing the phenological development of the vine, and (ii) to evaluate a geostatistic approach by using a high number of already existing plots (higher variability) to analyze the terroir parameters’ impact. The results showed that the plots presented a different development concerning budbreak and concerning the speed of development during the growing season. These two components are not influenced by the same parameters. This emphasizes that the influence of the different terroir parameters can vary during the growing season. Some parameters derived from a digital elevation mode, like modelized incoming radiations, seem promising for estimating the precocity potential of the different zones. Finally, the results showed that the observation of a large quantity of already existing vineyards not intended for research is adapted to define the main factors of the terroir, despite natural variability or human influence.