Crop protection strategies based on cupric products and mainly adopted in organic viticulture produce a consistent environmental impact due to the persistence of copper in soils and its negative effects on edaphic biodiversity. In this work, trials were carried out during the crop years 2018–2020 in a vineyard with an organic management by a low-copper strategy and in a conventional IPM management with an IPM strategy with reduced use of fungicides. Phytosanitary treatments have been strictly planned according to forecasting models, and fungicides have been partially substituted with substances improving the resistance mechanisms of plants. Different strategies of green manure management, in order to improve the health of vines, were also adopted. Results suggest the efficacy of the “GreenGrapes” plant protection strategy in conditions of low downy mildew pressure. Furthermore, no declines in the production quality have been recorded; conversely, the synergic effect of the green manure and the tested biostimulant substances (“GreenGrapes” protocols) and the green manure management improved yield and grape quality, compared with conventional conduction (IPM and Organic) with a grass covering.
In precision viticulture, the intra-field spatial variability characterization is a crucial step to efficiently use natural resources by lowering the environmental impact. In recent years, technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Mobile Laser Scanners (MLS), multispectral sensors, Mobile Apps (MA) and Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques enabled the possibility to characterize this variability with low efforts. The study aims to evaluate, compare and cross-validate the potentiality and the limits of several tools (UAV, MA, MLS) to assess the vine canopy size parameters (thickness, height, volume) by processing 3D point clouds. Three trials were carried out to test the different tools in a vineyard located in the Chianti Classico area (Tuscany, Italy). Each test was made of a UAV flight, an MLS scanning over the vineyard and a MA acquisition over 48 geo-referenced vines. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) were also assessed and taken as reference value. The results showed that the analyzed tools were able to correctly discriminate between zones with different canopy size characteristics. In particular, the R2 between the canopy volumes acquired with the different tools was higher than 0.7, being the highest value of R2 = 0.78 with a RMSE = 0.057 m3 for the UAV vs. MLS comparison. The highest correlations were found between the height data, being the highest value of R2 = 0.86 with a RMSE = 0.105 m for the MA vs. MLS comparison. For the thickness data, the correlations were weaker, being the lowest value of R2 = 0.48 with a RMSE = 0.052 m for the UAV vs. MLS comparison. The correlation between the LAI and the canopy volumes was moderately strong for all the tools with the highest value of R2 = 0.74 for the LAI vs. V_MLS data and the lowest value of R2 = 0.69 for the LAI vs. V_UAV data.
The research work carried out aimed at verifying the efficacy of Trichoderma-based products on the fertility maintenance in vineyard soils, in case of replanting. The presence of a hypofertile horizon, in fact, can cause problems in the engrafting of rooted cuttings and a slowing down in their vegetative development. The trial was carried out at the experimental farm of CREA − Research Center for Viticulture and Enology of Arezzo, during the setting up of a new Sangiovese vineyard. Rooted grafts treated with three different formulations containing some Trichoderma spp. strains were planted, considering an untreated negative control. In addition, treatments with the same formulations were repeated in the 2014-2016 three-year period, by spraying the soil, with an injector pole. Every year the shoot length and the pruning wood weight were evaluated, as well as the presence/absence of Trichoderma spp. on the root systems. Moreover, in 2016 the photosynthetic efficiency of the vines was verified. The presence of Trichoderma spp. within the rhizosphere of the vines treated was stable over time; the differences found between treated and untreated thesis were considerable, while only minor differences emerged among the plants subjected to the three different treatments. According to the results obtained, the application of Trichoderma-based products can be considered a valid practice to be used during vineyard implantation in case of difficult edaphic conditions.
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