Abstract
Yield issues are crucial for winegrowers. In France, yield is often lower than winegrowers’ objectives, and there is a need to understand the causes and magnitude of yield variability in vineyard systems. The yield formation process for grapevine (Vitis vinifera) takes place over two consecutive years. Grapevine is also characterised by a limited control of phenology, a winter dormancy period and the existence of storage organs. We adapted the regional agronomic diagnosis approach as defined by Doré et al. (1997) to quantify grapevine yield variability in two complementary case studies. The regional agronomic diagnosis proved useful in acquiring knowledge on grapevine functioning, reflecting on the data collection strategy, and leveraging interventions to better control yield by integrating multiple factors, particularly in the context of transitioning viticulture systems. Furthermore, the successful application of a regional agronomic diagnosis to grapevine crops can be considered as a major contribution to increasing the understanding of yield formation. It helps winegrowers manage yield variability when addressing planned or unplanned changing conditions, such as an agroecological transition or climate change.
Highlights
In modern agriculture, maintaining sustainable yield levels involves reducing agricultural threats to the environment and dealing with climatic change, among other challenges.For perennial crops like grapevine (Vitis vinifera, Figure 1), replanting is slow and highly constrained by regulations
In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) case study, we studied organic farming as a way to eliminate synthetic herbicides, synthetic fungicides and synthetic insecticides
We examined all the processes affecting yield throughout the yield formation process to understand the yield variations caused by changes in practices to transition from conventional to organic farming (Merot et al, 2019)
Summary
In modern agriculture, maintaining sustainable yield levels involves reducing agricultural threats to the environment and dealing with climatic change, among other challenges.For perennial crops like grapevine (Vitis vinifera, Figure 1), replanting is slow and highly constrained by regulations. Numerous studies have investigated the management and technological options, decision support tools or innovative agricultural methods to manage grapevine yields, regulate pests and support optimal use of soil water and nitrogen resources in changing contexts (Davy et al, 2010; Léger et al, 2010; Pertot et al, 2017; Ripoche et al, 2011; Victorino et al, 2020). These studies often examine whether production remained stable by comparing the yields of a reference system and an assessed system with a modified management strategy over a multi-year period. Interannual variability is not explicitly considered in these studies, multi-year productivity must be maintained when adjusting vineyard management strategies
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