Terroir 2006 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Use of the soils information system for detailed vineyard soil surveys and as a component of precision viticulture

Use of the soils information system for detailed vineyard soil surveys and as a component of precision viticulture

Abstract

Vineyard soil surveys can be costly and time consuming. The Soils Information System (SIS) provides a set of tools to do a quick evaluation of soil physical properties in the vineyard. First, a system equipped with GPS and EM38 equipment, provides a very precise DEM and a soil electrical conductivity map. Specific sampling points are located for a tractor-mounted geotechnical probe to make soil physical measurements. Sensor readings are used to make precise estimations of soil texture, compaction, moisture and resistivity in the field. The probe reaches a depth of 1.2 to 1.5 meters. The data obtained are used to construct thematic maps, such as soil texture, soil compaction, and soil moisture availability maps. Finally, soil cores can be collected and sent to the laboratory to validate the SIS measurements and perform further analyses when required. This system has been used in vineyards located in different terroir regions of California, France and Spain. Results demonstrated a more precise delineation of soil map units than traditional survey methods using pits and augers. This approach allowed a more precise mapping of soil depth to the underlying rock layers. It also provided the information necessary to design an irrigation system in a newly planted vineyard. In summary, SIS provides a rapid and effective approach to precision mapping of terroir components and will have broad applications for precision viticulture.

DOI:

Publication date: December 22, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2006

Type: Article

Authors

Jean-Jacques LAMBERT (1), Mark STELFORD (2), John SAMUELSON (3) and James O’BRIEN (3)

(1) Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
(2) John Deere Agri Services, Hoffman Estates, IL, USA
(2) Soil and Topography Information (STI), Madison, WI, USA

Contact the author

Keywords

electrical conductivity, soil mapping, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), terroir, soil probe

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2006

Citation

Related articles…

Intelligent article to control the internal pressure in continue in bottles

An intelligent packaging might, among others, provide information and allow monitoring of the quality of the packed product or its surrounding environment. A recent project on micro-flow wine bottles closed with aluminium screw cap and tightness liner, highlighted the importance of monitoring the internal overpressure continuously, in real-time and at least for 72 hours, since the internal pressure on the tightness liner and the micro-flow are related. Real-time and continuous measurements are not the standard methods of measurement of the overpressure, yet. The most used equipment for the determination of the pressure in wine bottle is the aphrometer, a destructive device that supplies a single value of pressure.

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.

Successful training on responsible wine consumption in Germany

Considering that „prevention requires information”, in 2007, the european education program wine in moderation (wim) started. The common message of responsible and only moderate wine consumption is implemented in each participating country, adapted to national circumstances. In germany, besides recruiting new wim members from the wine sector, the deutsche weinakademie focusses also on information and education of future wine makers and cellar men in professional schools. The seminars cover basic information about the existing legal framework (youth protecting law, drink driving laws, etc.), the self regulation code of conduct for commercial communications (advertising) of alcoholic beverages as well as the health effects of alcoholic beverages, and of wine in particular.

Partitioning of seasonal above‐ground biomass of four vineyard-grown varieties: development of a modelling framework to infer temperature-rate response functions

Aims: Forecasting the biomass allocation among source and sinks organs is crucial to better understand how grapevines control the distribution of acquired resources and has a great meaning in term of making decisions about agricultural practices in vineyards. Modelling plant growth and development is one of prediction approaches that play this role when it concerns growth rates in response to variation in environmental conditions

Monitoring of mannoprotein cessions during wine aging on lees: development of a simple enzymatic method

Mannoproteins are polysaccharides released by Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast during alcoholic fermentation or by enzymatic action during aging on yeast lees (autolysis). These molecules play a major role in wine characteristics processing, namely, in the tartaric stabilization and protein haze prevention; moreover, they improve color stability and reduce astringency.