Grapevine productive responses when combining deficit irrigation and cover cropping

What is it about?

We studied the vegetative growth, yield, berry composition, and wine quality in a Mediterranean vineyard in response to various degrees of irrigation supply (full irrigation, regulated deficit irrigation and rainfed conditions) and different soil management practices (sown cover crop and permanent resident vegetation). Pruning weight, yield, and cluster weight were influenced by irrigation; the grape composition parameters that showed significant differences were few and different each year; in wine composition, only in one year was the effect of irrigation on titratable acidity proven. Vegetative growth and yield were lower in the presence of the sown cover crop. Plants growing on plots with permanent sown cover crop under regulated deficit irrigation shown better performance for the phenolic compounds in grapes.

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Why is it important?

The study highlights that the combination of deficit irrigation strategies with cover cropping systems can contribute for better vegetative growth control and good product quality, especially when grapevines develop in soils with high water storage capacity.