Diploma D1 Managing Nutrients and Water CH6 Flashcards
What is Soil Health
Continued capacity of the soil to act as a living ecosystem that sustains plants animals and Humans
When Managing Soil Health what factors need to be considered
What are the issues of poor soil health, can they be managed
- Sructure of Soil
- Amount of Organic matter and Humus in soil
- Number of living organisms in soil
- Total amount of available nutrients vine needs to grow
Issues with poor soil health
- Problems with nutrients/water availability and uptake
- Lead to poor vine growth and ripening
- Soil tests can be taken and corrective measures can be taken
What are beneficial properties to Structure of soil
Benefits:
- Good drainage
- Suffiecient water holding capacity
- Sufficient Oxygen
- Ability to resist erosion
- Allow roots of vines to penetrate to suffiencient depths
Why is organic matter and humus in soil good
Decomposing organic matter supplies nutrients, humus inproves structure of soil and water holding capacity
Why are Living Organisms in soil good
Earthworms and microbes break down organic matter into humus and inorganic nutrients accessible to the vine
What Nutrients does a Vine Need
1 - 3 Maine Three, with balance essential for healthy vine growth and ripening of grape
1) Nitrogen (Essential vine growth, vigour, grape quality)
2) Potassium (Essential regulate flow of water)
3) Phosphorus
(essential for photosynthesis, only small amount required)
4) Magnesium
5) Calcium
What Techniques can you use for Nutrient Management
1) Application of Nutrients
A) Application of Fertilizers
i)Organic Fertilizers
ii)Inorganic Fertilizers
2) Promotion of biological activity and soil Structure
A) Cover Crops
B) Mulching
3) Management of weeds and unwanted plants
A)Cultivation
B) Herbicides
C) Animal Grazing
D) Cover Crops
E) MulchingIn Nutrient Management when and why would fertilizer be used, what do you risk
What 2 types of Fertilizer can be used and consist of
What are advantages and disadvantages to both
Fertilizers used before planting to help grow young vines, correct nutrient difficiencies in existing vineyards. Excessive fertilizer may lead to excessive vigour and unbalanced vine
Organic and Inorganic (Synthetic) Fertizlier
Organic - fresh or composted plant or animal material, manure or slurry. Cover crops mowed into soil to decompose for nutrients
Organic Advantages
- Cheap or free
- Some high in humus, good for soil and water retention
- Nutrients in organic form, provide nutrition to soil organisms, promote living matter in soil
Organic Disadvantages
- Labor for incorporation into soil, need to be broken down into inorganic nutrients
- Can be bulky and expensive to transport and spread
- Nutrients become available to the vine gradually (can be an advantage)
Inorganic Fertilizers (Synthetic) - Manufactured from minerals extraxted from the ground or synthetic chemicals.
Inorganic (Synthetic) Advantages
- Can be tailored to provide a single or several nutrients
- Already inorganic state, vine ready
- Concentrated, cheap to transport and distribute
Inorganic (Synthetic Disadvantages)
- No benefit for soil organisms, do not improve soil structure
- More expensive than organic fertilizers
What is Cultivation
In Nutrient Management when and why would Cultivation be used
What are advantages and disadvantages
Ploughing the soil to cut or disturb roots weed system
Would be used for weed control
Advantages
- No chemicals, can be insed in organic and biodynamic practices
- Enables fertilizer, incorporates mowed cover crop into soil
Disadvantages
- Repeated cultivation damage soil structure and ecology (ex. Disrupt earthworm habitat)
- Costly, skilled labor and machinery
- Buries seeds, encouraging weeds to grow back
- Can increase vine vigour too much with no competition for water or nutrients (can be positive for low vigour sites
What are Herbicides, when and why are they used in Managing Nutrients (3 types of Herbicides)
What are advantages and disadvantages
- Chemical sprays that kill weeds
- Pre emergence herbicides sprayd before weeds establish
- Contact herbicides sprays on established weeds kill green parts of weed they are sprayed on
- Systemic herbicides sprayed on established weeds, and taken in by leaves. Travel up and down sap that kills the whole plant
Advantages
- Cheap in labor and machinery
- Highly effective
- Less damaging to soil than cultivation
Disadvantages
- Present risk of cpoinoning operator, consumer and envoirnment
- Do not encourage vineyard ecosystems
- Need to use larger doses or different chemicals as weeds become resistant (problem in South Africa with glyphsate resistant ryegrass)
- Not allowed in organic and biodynamic viti
What is Animal Grazing, when and why is it used in Managing Nutrients
What are advantages and disadvantages
Allow animals such as sheep to graze the vineyard for weed control
Advantages
- Organic and biodynamic (no chemical used)
- Provide vineyard with manure
- Animals can be source of meat for humans
Disadvantages
- Vines need to be trained suitably high so vine leaves are not eaten
- Animals need care, extra labor
- Animals are often susceptible to vineyard pests
What are cover crops, when and why are they used in managing nutrients
What are advantages and disadvantages
Plants specifically planted to benefit the vineyard
- Surpress weeds
- Improve soil structure
- Enhance biodiversity
- Fortell pests and diseases if more susceptible (rose)
- Compete with vine for water and nutrients
- Manage soil erosion
- Allow more control (Specific cover crops with known characteristics)
- Ploughed into soil for natural vegitation
Advantages
- No chemicals, increase soil biological activity, so common in organic and biodynamic
- Ability to influence vigor of vine
- Provision of good surface for machinery, particularly climates with high annual rainfall
Disadvantages
- Reduction in vine vigour due to competition
- Difficulty of mowing underrow, add time and labor
- Unsuitability for steep sloping vineyards, slippery when wet
What is Mulching, when and why is it used in managing nutrients
What are advantages and disadvantages
Spreading of matter onto the vineyard soil to surpress weeds, usually made of biodegradeable material (straw, bark) to ulitmately provide nutrients for vines
Advantages
- No chemical, organic and biodynamic
- Can reduce water evaporation from soil
- Source of nutrients and humus, promote biological activity and good soil structure
Disadvantages
- Mulch is bulky, expensive to transport and spread
- Only effective in thick layers, alot needed
- Can increase vigor too much, no competition for water and nutrients
What are Two Major Types of Water Management
Irrigation - Used to add water, not always permitted
Can be difficult to place and used if need is persistent
Drainage - plentiful rainfall, soil not suitibly free draining
Where does water for irrigation come from, what are ways to maximize efficiency of water use
What should you assess before using irrigation
Dry farming can be an option
Water can come from mny sources, nearby river, lake, resevoir or borehole
Water is precious resource and tightly regulated in many countries, ex (California, Australia, & South Africa). Water used in cleaning at winery
Maximize use
- Use of Water-Efficient Irrigation systems and techniques while monitoring water takeup of vines
- Use drought tolerent grape varieties (grenache)
- Reduce evaportation (apply mulch)
- Reduce Competition (remove weeds)
- Increase humus levels in soil for water retention
- Promote deep vine root growth
Assess Water quality, mud can block irrigation. Water with high salinity can be problematic, vines struggle to uptake water.
