International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences
Volume-2 Issue-3, 2016, Page No:22-33
Management of Vineyard Variability: A Simple and Effective
Alternative to the Precision Viticulture.
AlexeySapsay1, José Luis Aleixandre-Tudó1, Josep LLuis Pérez 2, José LuisAleixandre1
1.Institute of Food Engineering for Development (IIAD), Politechnic University of Valencia, Spain
2.Mas Martinet Assessorament, Catalonia, Spain
3.Departament of Viticulture and Enology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Citation : AlexeySapsay,José Luis Aleixandre-Tudó,Josep LLuis Pérez,José LuisAleixandre, Management of Vineyard Variability: A Simple and Effective
Alternative to the Precision Viticulture. International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences . 2016;2(3):22-33.
Abstract
: Each vine within a parcel has a specific growing force and depends on several factors such as type
of rootstock, soil properties, water and nutritional status of the plant. The quality of grapes produced by the
vines of different vigor is heterogeneous (if treated conventionally) which creates a general loss of quality of the
harvest. Thus, the management of the heterogeneity of the vigor within a plot represents a particular interest in
increasing the quality of the harvest and maximizing the qualitative potential of the parcel. The first year the
plot is left without trimming so that each vine could express 100% of its vigor. In winter, the vine is pruned and
the wood is then weighted for each plant. This weight is divided by 50 g (the weight of a stem of 1 m. 20 cm) to
avoid trimming during the growing period and to have a possibility to repeat the procedure the following year.
The number obtained is the load that must be left for the vine for the current year. The load is then corrected by
green pruning for each vine. All plants are divided into four groups of different vigor in order to compare the
quality of grapes and wine from each group. After two years of using the technique of dividing vegetative mass
on a specific number of shoots per vine, it was found that the wines made of grapes from vines of four groups
studied are only slightly different at the analytical and organoleptic level. The average length of stems has been
brought to the same level for all the 4 groups of vigor.