Resumen
This study aims to evaluate the interest of using an under-vine cover crop as a sustainable management tool replacing herbicides or tillage to control weeds, evaluating its effects on yield and berry parameters in a semi-arid climate. The performance of Trifolium fragiferum as an under-vine cover crop was evaluated in 2018 and 2019 in a Merlot vineyard in Traibuenas (Navarra, Spain). This trial s ...
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This study aims to evaluate the interest of using an under-vine cover crop as a sustainable management tool replacing herbicides or tillage to control weeds, evaluating its effects on yield and berry parameters in a semi-arid climate. The performance of Trifolium fragiferum as an under-vine cover crop was evaluated in 2018 and 2019 in a Merlot vineyard in Traibuenas (Navarra, Spain). This trial showed that the soil under the vines was covered by 80 % of the cover crop in August 2018 and 100 % in Aug 2019, with clover (T. fragiferum) comprising around 26 % and 70 % of the cover crop surface, respectively. The presence of the cover crop only reduced the number of shoots in the second year, although both years there was an increment in water stress. Neither yield, cluster weight nor berry weight were affected by the presence of the under-vine cover crop. Similarly, no changes in grape composition were observed. The use of T. fragiferum-like cover crops under the vine allows for better control of weeds, provided a good installation is achieved. In the first two years, this cover crop reduced vegetative growth and increased water deficit slightly. However, no changes in yield and grape composition were observed. In a context of herbicide suppression and search for sustainable management, under-vine clover cover crops constitute a viable alternative in semi-arid regions provided drip irrigation can be applied. [--]
Materias
Carbon isotope ratio,
Trifolium fragiferum L,
Vine,
Water potential
Editor
International Viticulture and Enology Society (IVES)
Departamento
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura Saila
Entidades Financiadoras
This work has been partially supported by the Government of Navarra VINOROSADO project (0011-1365-2019-000111, co-funded at 50 % by EFDR EU program). F. J. Abad is a beneficiary of the postgraduate scholarship funded by INIA (FPI-INIA-2016).