Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
preferences and market demands and the need to ensure that appropriate inputs
are available and natural resources conserved. The main issues to be considered
here are
• Managingnaturalsoilvariabilityinavineyard
• Managingsoilwater
• Organic,biodynamic,andconventionalviticulture
• Climatechangeandpossibleconsequences
• Benchmarkingforsoilquality
• Integratedproductionsystems(IPS)andsustainability
Managing Natural Soil Variability in a Vineyard
Natural soil variability is an important contributor to overall variability in vine
performance. Precision viticulture (PV) provides a range of tools for a winegrower
to manage variability and make informed management decisions, thereby gaining
better control over the production system.
Chapter 1 discusses the causes of soil variability. Chapter 2 describes meth-
ods based on remote and/or proximal sensing to delineate the spatial structure
of this variability. By making such measurements at a high spatial resolution and
incorporating the data into a geographic information system, a winegrower can
Figure 6.7
An extensive vineyard covering more than one soil type on a gravelly
floodplain in the Marlborough region, New Zealand. (Photo courtesy of Mr.
Richard Merry, CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide, South Australia.)
