Manual of techniques for sustainable mountain viticulture Josep Lluís Pérez Verdú

Chart 4.2 Comparison of the productivity of different mountain vineyard designs

(natural land gradient: 40%)

Terraces

Conventional

Mas Martinet

Vine training

Cordon

Double vine

Circles on

royat

training on slope  

terrace

Slope gradient

º

45

32

55

Terrace width

m

2.3

1.3

1.3

No. of terraces

unit/ha

26

27

52

Slope height

m

1.5

1.4

0.7

Production branch

length per ha

m/ha

5,200

8,180

12,252

No. of stock

unit/ha

4,333

8,180

6,500

Theoretic No. of shoots

unit/ha

52,000

116,862

175,032

ELA per shoot

m

2

/unit

0,14

0.14

0,14

Theoretic ELA per ha

m

2

/ha

7,280

16,361

24,504

Real ELA per ha (65%)

m

2

/ha

4,732

10,634

15,928

Real quality production

(first wine)

(1)

kg/m

2

0.6

0.6

0.6

Real quality production

kg/ha

2,839

6,381

9,557

(first wine)

Area required to produce

10,000 kg per year 

ha

3.5

1.6

1.1

(1) See Section 3.5

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4.2. Comprehensive vineyard control

Once planting has been developed, the crop must be managed every year: 

•

Adjust the vigour of the stock required for the formation of the plant’s architecture regarding vigour

control techniques. 

•

Decide on the time and the duration of irrigation.

•

Apply the necessary treatments for the control of disease and blight. 

In order to collect and prepare the necessary information at all times for decision-making regarding

crop management, the vineyard is divided into plots that can behave in a similar way in terms of vigour

and their response to irrigation: 

•

Soil conditions (fertility, porosity, etc.). 

•

Stock variety.

•

Underground or surface irrigation.

The resulting plots will cover a variable area depending on each case (e.g. from 0.5 ha to several ha).

The following method is used to adjust the stock vigour each year during winter pruning:

•

30 to 35 sample stocks are selected from each plot. 

•

The shoots from each sample stock are classified according to their size and are weighed to obtain

the vigour. Depending on the results, the irrigation guidelines (ferti-irrigation) are decided on and

the production targets of the plot determined for the following year.

As already indicated, reaching a production close to the target value may require several years, once

the stock has developed its entire production branch. 

To obtain the supporting information for irrigation decision-making, the following is installed on each

plot: 

•

2 dendrometers on two representative stocks. 

•

2 soil moisture sensors next to the dendrometers.

•

1 radio transmitter: this sends the readings of the dendrometers and the sensors to the central

computer where estate operations are controlled. 

Data transmitter from the vineyard to the

central office

Dendrometer and soil moisture sensor

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A weather station is also installed on the vineyard (valid for all plots), which is equipped to measure

the following parameters: 

•

Ambient temperature.

•

Soil temperature.

•

Rainfall.

•

Relative humidity.

•

Wind speed and direction.

•

Vine leaf moisture.

•

Solar radiation.

The weather station

2

has several functions:

•

To add to the information from the dendrometers and sensors for irrigation management.

•

To obtain weather forecasts useful for planning viticulture work. 

•

To provide the data required for the control of disease and blight. 

The information measured by the equipment installed on the vineyard is transmitted to the central

computer where it is stored and processed for real-time decision-making. In turn, the irrigation orders

Figure 4.1 Information technologies applied to viticulture 

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2

The Mas Martinet experiments regarding weather stations were carried out in collaboration with Adcon (represented in Spain

by Verdtech)

Real-time decision making 

1 ANALYSIS

2 ACTION

office

Weather station

Dendrometer

Solenoid

valve

Soil

moisture

---

for each plot can be run from the central control, acting o the solenoid valves that open o close the

run of water at the different levels of the estate. The system records the start time and the duration of

irrigation at each level and on each plot, as well as the flow of water used. 

All the information generated either through automatic devices (e.g. irrigation flow or dendrometer

variations) or manually prepared (shoot size, pesticide applications, etc.) must be recorded and sub-

jected to analytical accounting, given that what is not measured cannot be managed. It is ultimately a

question of ensuring the traceability of the quality of each batch of grapes and wine with the crop

management decisions. 

Hence, through the experience accumulated and the assistant of the relational and data interpretation

models, productivity, quality, resource savings and environmental protection can be continuously

improved. 

These techniques are particularly appropriate for mountain plantations, which are often small (from

only a few hectares to several dozen hectares). The application potential for large operations of hun-

dreds or thousands of hectares is smaller, as business criteria regarding process standardisation that

are easily systematically repeatable are normally introduced. 

4.3. Eco-efficient mountain viticulture

Mas Martinet techniques provide eco-efficient viticulture, i.e. the added economic value is increased

while environmental impact is decreased, by reducing the use of natural resources and preventing their

degradation or pollution (providing more with less). 

For example, a winery can obtain its wine bottle production decided upon based on business and mar-

ket considerations, occupying must less land than if conventional techniques are used. The efficient

use of land has extremely important environmental consequences in the form of preserving the lands-

cape, reducing erosion and saving water and fertilisers, etc. Likewise, the grape quality increases its

value and this is achieved with a low dependence on the weather conditions. 

4.3.1 Environmental sustainability

The integration of terrace design and construction and vigour control techniques together with the

addition plant cover and disease prediction techniques provides for the development of environmen-

tally sustainable mountain viticulture. Chart 4.3 shows the environmental benefits explained in detail

throughout the Manual.

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