Cover Crop and Pruning Residue Management to Reduce Nitrogen Mineral Fertilization in Mediterranean Vineyards

Abstract

This paper aimed to study the effect of temporary cover crop and vine pruning residue burial as alternative practices to conventional tillage on soil nitrate (NO3-N) availability and grapevine performance in the short term. The trial was carried out in a rain-fed vineyard (Vitis vinifera L., cv Grecanico dorato/140 Ruggeri) located in a traditional Mediterranean viticultural area (37°32′48′′ N; 13°00′15′′ E) in Sicily (Italy). Conventional tillage (CT) soil management was compared with winter cover crop (CC), conventional tillage plus buried pruning residue (CT + PR), and winter cover crop plus buried pruning residue (CC + PR) management treatments. Two fertilizer treatments (92 kg ha−1 of N as urea and 0 kg ha−1) were applied to the four soil management treatments. Vicia faba L. was the selected leguminous cover crop species, which was seeded in autumn and buried in spring at the same time as vine pruning residues. The soil NO3-N content was monitored, and vine vegetative growth, yield, and must quality were assessed over two seasons. Results showed that NO3-N availability strongly differed between fertilized (F) and unfertilized (UF) plots and years and among treatments. A positive effect of winter leguminous CC + PR on the Grecanico dorato grapevine performance was observed. In the UF vineyard, grape fertility, yield, Ravaz index, and total soluble solids were significantly higher in CC + PR vines than in other treatments, thus showing the reliability of reducing N mineral fertilization and related risks of excess nitrate in groundwater. The possibility of increasing the overall sustainability of rain-fed vineyards in a semiarid agro-ecosystem, without negative effects on grape and must quality, is also demonstrated.

Family-Level Multimorbidity among Older Adults in India: Looking through a Syndemic Lens

“…We found multimorbidity to be associated with urban residents, affluent groups, and Southern India, which is similar with the findings of previous studies conducted among individual-level participants in India [ 32 , 33 ]. Although these findings suggest these groups to have more multimorbidity, it could be due to various other social factors.…”

Effects of green manure planting mode on the quality of Korla fragrant pears (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu)

“…The relationship between green manure cover crop cultivation and crop quality has been widely researched. Pisciotta et al (2021) indicated that leguminous green fertilizer increased the soluble solid content of fruits, and this research also found that the application of leguminous green fertilizer increased the soluble solid content of Korla fragrant pear. This may be because the roots of leguminous cover crops are rich in nitrogen, which degrades faster in soil after turning, providing an important nitrogen source for the growth of fruit trees (Gaskell and Smith, 2007), and thus improving the intrinsic quality of fruit.…”

“…The relationship between green manure cover crop cultivation and crop quality has been widely researched. Pisciotta et al. (2021) indicated that leguminous green fertilizer increased the soluble solid content of fruits, and this research also found that the application of leguminous green fertilizer increased the soluble solid content of Korla fragrant pear.…”

“…Leguminosae, Poaceae and Cruciferae are common types of green manures in fruit orchards ( Yim et al., 2017 ; Deakin et al., 2018 ; Zhong et al., 2018 ). It is found that the soil management mode of planting leguminous green manure ( Vicia faba L.) and burying cutting residues from the main crop could increases grape output and soluble solid content effectively ( Pisciotta et al., 2021 ). As demonstrated by Zhu et al.…”

Composting from organic municipal solid waste: a sustainable tool for the environment and to improve grape quality

“…Modern winegrowing must address the issue of vineyard fertility in the sustainability context (Burg et al ., 2019). Currently greater attention is being paid to replacing conventional and synthetic fertilizers, such as urea, mineral superphosphate and potassium chloride (Roig et al ., 2018; Ollanazarovich, 2021; Pisciotta et al ., 2021) with different types of fertilizers (source of organic matter) in the form of compost, organic manure or digestate (Ronga et al ., 2019; Pizzeghello et al ., 2021). The new trends aimed at sustainable vineyard management lead to safeguarding soil fertility by preserving non-renewable resources and making the most of territorial resources (Cataldo et al ., 2021 a ; Rusch et al ., 2022).…”