Ch. 4 Approaches to Grape Growing Flashcards
What factors influence contemporary viticulture?
World view and ethical issues Desired level of production Intended wine quality Return on investment Cost Availability of labor Environmental impact
Describe conventional viticulture
Conventional viticulture is a widely-implemented approach that surged in second half of the twentieth century in which viticulture became a monoculture aimed at increasing production levels and reducing labor required.
This was achieved by: - Mechanisation - Chemical inputs - Irrigation - Clonal selection Use of agrochemicals to control pests Use of herbicides and ploughing to get rid of weeds
What are the advantages of monocultures?
- Ability to mechanise work in vineyard (reducing costs/labor)
- reduction of competition from other plants
- Ability to tend to specific needs of grape variety (irrigation, nutrition level, treatments, pests, disease) and hence increase yields while minimizing costs
What are the disadvantages of monoculture?
- Plants much more prone to disease, all plants affected simultaneously and diseases can spread quickly
- Nutrients can be depleted, no natural ecosystem to replenish them so more fertiilsers are required
- Residual chemicals from treatments can find their way into groundwate, creating environmental damage
Describe the main concerns of sustainable viticulture
- Economic
- Social
- Environmental
- Promote natural ecosystems w/in vineyard
- Maintain biodiversity
- Manage waste
- Minimise application of chemicals and energy use
- reduce impact of viticulture on wider environment
- have holistic understanding of lifecycle and vineyard environment to predict and prevent outbreaks - time applications so fewwer needed
- Integrated Pest Management or lutte raisonée - prepared to use treatments when necessary but you monitor in the same way as sustainable agriculture
- Anticipate problems, boost vines own defence mechanisms and act at most effective time - limit serious damage to crop, reduce chemicals, save costs and prevent weed building up resistance
What are the advantages of sustainable viticulture?
- More thoughtful approach
- Deployment of scientific understanding
- Reduced spraying of synthetic or traditional treatments
- Consequent cost saving
What are the disadvantages of sustainable viticulture?
- Ambiguity around term, there’s not a clear set of standards
- Nationwide sustainability stands can be set too low (eg New Zealand)
Explain the key features of organic viticulture.
- Use of compost to improve soil structure and biomass and slowly release nutrients for vines
- use of natural fertilizers
- Cultivation of cover crops - prevents soil erosion and improvement of biodiversity in soil
- Reduction of monoculture by growing cover crops, planting hedges and establishing islands of biodiversity
EX. planting apple orchards which attract bats which eat insects; foxes in surrounding woodland, which hunt rabbits which eat grapes
What other techniques are used in organic viticulture?
- Use sulfur and copper sulfate to combat mildews (only spray when necessary) - these build up when used frequently and can be worse for environment than longer-lasting synthetic chemical sprays
- Introduce predators - Bacillus subtilis competes w Botrytis cinerea (grey rot)
- Sexual confusion using pheromone tags
Additional considerations for organic viticulture
Exact standards set by different organizations may be slightly different
Universal requirement is that vineyards undergo a period of conversion, which can be costly
What are the advantages and disadvantages of organic grape growing
A
- improvement of health and disease-resistance of vine
- Improvement of health of soil
- Elimination of spraying synthetic chemicals
- Saving on cost of synthetic chemicals
D
- Possible small reduction in yield generally
- Possibility of significant reduction in yield in difficult years (eg high humidity)
- increased reliance on copper sprays, which may lead to build-up of heavy metal in the soils
- Cost and time of seeking certification
Explain biodynamic viticulture
Based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun, it is a farming practice that incorporates philosophy and cosmology. It views the soils as part of a connected system between the planet Earth, other planets and the air, so it incorporates cycles of the planets, moon and stars into the timing of viticultural practices.
What are some practices used in biodynamic viticulture?
- Homeopathic remedies called preparations to fertilize soil, treat diseases, and ward off pests
- – Preparation 500 - stuffing cow manure into cow’s horn and burying horn over the winter; then dug up and contents dynamised, then preparation is sprayed onto soil
- – Preparation 501 - horn silica - stuff cow’s horn with ground quartz and bury for 6 months
- – Compost (502-507) - compost has to be activated by starters in small quantities like chamomile, dandelion, valerian etc
- use sulfur and copper sprays
- spread ashes of burnt weed seeds or harmful animals
What are additional considerations in biodynamic viticulture?
- Demeter is common international certifying body - standards are same as organic as baseline, then specifies principles that should be followed
- Additional costs of bio is a little more than organic
- Advantages and disadvantages same as organic
Explain precision viticulture.
Uses data collected from the vineyard (soil, vine vigor, topography, plant growth) to respond to changes from plot to plot and row to row.
Data is collected through sensors, presented through GPS or GIS as maps
All key interventions will be carried out in light of data collected - variable-rate application technology
