Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.6
Soil erosion on the lower slopes of a clean-cultivated vineyard in the Côte d'Or,
Burgundy region, France.
How to Build Up Soil Organic Matter
The opportunity to build up SOM is greater in a well-managed vineyard than
under most annual crops for which the soil is cultivated and much of the crop
is harvested and removed. Many winegrowers now focus on building up SOM
through practices ranging from conventional viticulture with minimum soil dis-
turbance and the use of cover crops to organic and biodynamic viticulture. Those
who have adopted organic practices write with reverence about nourishing their
soil, as the following example from an Australian Certified Organic vineyard in
the Barossa Valley region demonstrates.
During autumn a cover crop of legumes (beans, vetch) and cereal (oats,
triticale) is sown mid-row. This is mulched off and then later rotary-hoed
into the ground as a green manure crop in spring. The green manure
crop provides a rich source of organic matter and nutrition for the
vines. The mixed crop also ensures a diverse array of soil fungi, bacte-
ria and earthworms are present, providing a healthy biologically active
soil. “Nutri-blend,” a natural fertilizer consisting of humate, basalt and
soft-rock phosphate inoculated with microbes, is also used in the vine-
yard. Beneficial insects such as ladybirds and spiders are abundant in the
vineyard. . . . The overall philosophy is to get it right in the vineyard with
a healthy and sustainable vine and soil balance to produce sound, flavour-
some grapes. (Kalleske, 2007, p. 76)
