Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Soil management of interrow spacing as an important factor to protect the vineyard soils from runoff and erosion under the Mediterranean climate

Soil management of interrow spacing as an important factor to protect the vineyard soils from runoff and erosion under the Mediterranean climate

Abstract

Nearly one third of the Herault vineyard (south of France) is planted on soils very sensitive to water runoff and erosion. This sensitivity is reinforced by the Mediterranean rain regime, characterized by sudden and violent rainfalls during autumn and spring, by the slopes of the plots, the bare surface of the inter-row spacing and the poor organic matter content of the upper part of these soils. The effects on the vine landscapes and production can be noticeable.
The soil management is one of the more influent parameters on the risk of runoff and erosion. By now, most of the vineyard soils are maintained bare all the year round by either soil tillage or chemical weeding.
A 7-years experiment (2000-2006) was set up on a 1 ha surface plot to compare the effects of soil management on runoff, soil erosion and agronomic results. It aimed to compare chemical weedings (antisprouting or defoliating herbicides), soil tillage and permanent grass covering 50% of the surface. Results show that permanent grass cover reduces runoff by nearly 50 % compared to chemical weeding, thanks to a better infiltrability. This leads to a significant decrease of erosion with a cover grass (1.4 T/ha/y) compared to chemical weeding (8.5 T/ha/y).
There were few effects on the production : the grass cover induces less yield (-16%) and less growth (-27% in weight) compared to the rest of the plot.
The soil was little affected by the cultural practices. The main result is that the grass cover made the soil microbiology live again, with an increase of 48% of the total microbial biomass.
The results of this experiment are significant enough to give advice on the best way to manage the vine according to the plot characteristics, to avoid runoff and erosion.

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

William TRAMBOUZE (1), Patrick ANDRIEUX (2), Guillaume COULOUMA (2), Patrick ZANTE (3), Nathalie GOMA-FORTIN (1)

(1) Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Hérault, 15 rue Victor Hugo, F-34120 Pézenas, France
(2) INRA, UMR LISAH (INRA-IRD-Supagro), Campus SupAgro bâtiment 24, 2 pl. Pierre Viala, F-34060 Montpellier Cedex, France
(3) IRD, UMR LISAH (INRA-IRD-Supagro), Campus SupAgro bâtiment 24, 2 pl. Pierre Viala, F-34060 Montpellier Cedex, France

Contact the author

Keywords

Vigne, Erosion, Ruissellement, Pratiques culturales, Biologie du sol

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of elemental sulfur (S0) residues in Sauvignon blanc juice on the formation of the varietal thiols 3-mercapto hexanol and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate

Elemental sulfur is a fungicide used by grape growers to control the development of powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Erysiphe necator. This compound is effective, cheap and has a low toxicity with no withholding period recommended. However, high levels of S0 residues in the harvested grapes can lead to the formation of reductive sulfur compounds that can impart taints and faults to the wine. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a very volatile and unpleasant sulfur compound which formation is connected to high residues of S0 in juice (10 – 100 mg/L).

Trends and challenges in International Wine Trade. The need for new strategies for companies and regions.

Trends already extended for more than 12 years show a decline in both consumption and international trade, particularly in volume. However, there are also positive signs in several categories of wine, segments and markets, as well as a better trend in terms of value. How are these trends affecting wine producers and distributors? Are they short or long term? do they mean radical and permanent changes to which a way of adaptation has to be found or are they just temporary changes that may only require some calm? How are companies adapting to these new trends? Which are their effects on wine regions?

Evolution of the appellation of origin concept in the vineyards of Australia

Australia is the seventh largest producer of wine and crushed 1.42 million tonnes of wine grapes in the 2001 vintage.

Integrating RO concentrate in viticultural irrigation for sustainable urban water reclamation

Grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) require precise irrigation to maintain yield and quality, and the increasing use of reclaimed desalinated water for irrigation raises concerns about the accumulation of reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC), a high-salinity byproduct with no sustainable disposal solution.

Influenze pedo-ambientali su produzione, qualità e caratteristiche sensoriali dell’Albana di Romagna

L’Albana è il vitigno a bacca bianca tradizionale delle colline della Romagna, dove é presente per più di 2.500 ha. Con le sue uve si produce il vino “Albana di Romagna”, una delle più storiche D.O.C.G. italiane essendo stata costituita nel 1987. La maggiore concentrazione di vigneti di Albana si trova nell’Imolese e nelle colline del Ravennate, ma ben conosciuta per la qualità del prodotto é anche la produzione di Bertinoro, nel Forlivese.