Organic mulch materials improve soil moisture in vineyard

Abstract

The research paper deals with an evaluation of the effect of three types of organic mulch materials - cereal straw, wood chips and compost on soil moisture maintenance in vineyard in the Czech Republic in years 2017–2019. For comparison, the variant without mulch coverage “black fallow” was also monitored (control variant). The experiment was based on an experimental site in the village of Rakvice in the South Moravia Region. The three year results of the experiment demonstrate that the use of these three organic materials has a positive effect on the increase of soil moisture compared to the control variant. The best results are achieved by the variant with cereal straw, where the highest values of soil moisture were measured. At the same time, the yield of grapes and their qualitative parameters from individual variants were evaluated. Used organic mulching materials showed a significant statistical difference in the quality of the grapes compared to the control variant. These differences were demonstrated in the YAN content and in the variant with cereal straw also in the titratable acidity. The results of the experiment demonstrate that what might otherwise be agricultural waste, can be used to improve soil moisture and it represents an important agrotechnical treatment in vineyards contributing to the protection of soils and the environment in viticulture in Czech Republic and central Europe.