- Author: Mark Battany
Vineyards and orchards have long used winter cover crops to help reduce erosion, improve soil structure and prevent nutrient leaching. Growers are being encouraged to increase their use of cover crops to help capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and fix it as soil organic matter, thus helping mitigate climate change.
However the dry residues resulting from abundant cover crop growth can also serve as a highly flammable fuel if fire occurs at the vineyard or orchard. The risk of fire occurring in any given year is likely small, but many coastal areas of California are rated as having a very high or high fire hazard (see the Fire Hazard Severity Zones...
- Author: Mark Battany
Irrigation frequency and volume
One fundamental decision that a grower needs to make is how frequently to irrigate a vineyard; either applying small amounts of water frequently, or larger amounts of water less frequently. This choice determines how large the soil "flower pot" is that supports the vines, while also having implications for nutrient availability, salinity conditions and potential limitations on water infiltration. Changing from frequent small irrigations to infrequent large irrigations, either as an ongoing practice or as a one-time event, may lead to unanticipated outcomes and thus should ideally be done after ensuring that the conditions are adequate for this practice....