Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 6.3
Performance Categories in the Organic Matter Criterion for Soil Management
According to the Californian Sustainable Winegrowing Program
Soil Management—Tilth
Criterion
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Organic
matter
No organic matter
is added to
the soil other
than what the
vine produces,
resident
vegetation is
minimized in
the winter, and
the vineyard is
clean-tilled
Resident
vegetation
is allowed
to grow in
the winter
Some form of
organic matter
is added to the
soil annually
(e.g., annual
cover crop,
compost,
manure, or a
combination
of cover crop
and manure or
compost)
A combination
of organic
matter is added
to the soil
annually (e.g.,
permanent
or annual
cover crop,
compost and/
or manure),
and tillage is
reduced or
eliminated
to lower
the rate of
organic matter
breakdown
Increasing sustainability
Compiled from Jordan et al. (2004).
The Australian program, Entwine Australia, uses an industry-owned standard
called the Freshcare Environmental Viticulture Code of Practice. This describes the
vineyard practices required to provide customers with the assurance that produce has
been grown and packed with care for the environment. The elements of Freshcare
cover primarily management issues such as worker training, recording keeping, use
and storage of chemicals, irrigation water, electricity and fuel consumed, and waste
disposal. Land and soil are to be managed to avoid degradation, optimize SOM, and
minimize on- and offsite contamination. Fertilizers and soil amendments are selected
to minimize environmental impacts and their use based on plant/soil testing and
crop monitoring. Although there is no reporting on soil health indicators per se, this
could change in the future as better benchmarking information becomes available.
Irrespective of which sustainability program is implemented, information
about the properties of soil and its management is essential to attaining the objec-
tive of sustainable wine production. Only when winegrowers take care of the soil,
together with the other components of production, can this aim be achieved.
Furthermore, vineyard sustainability in the biophysical sense can only be achieved
when there is a balance of inputs and outputs of essential nutrients, C, and salts
and avoidance of a buildup of toxic chemicals and pest organisms.
his topic provides the basic knowledge of how to attain biophysical sustainabil-
ity, a necessary prerequisite for realizing sustainability in the fullest sense of the term.