Abstract
Advantages of vineyard cover crops include soil conservation, nutrient and water cycling, and a better growth–yield balance. They naturally promote agro-system biological multifunctionality, soil biocenosis, and biological pest control. However, for the role of cover crops on disease control, there is still a lack of information. We performed a systematic evaluation of the soil management effects on the development of two main pathogens: Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator. Conventional soil tillage was compared to grass and legume cover crops during a three-season trial in the Nurra wine region (Sardinia, Italy). Disease and grapevine development were assessed in relation to the weather, leaf area growth, leaf nitrogen, canopy density, and favorable microclimatic conditions for each disease, to weight their importance on disease susceptibility in each treatment. Higher infection percentages were observed in plots subjected to soil tillage. Disease development was better understood in relation to leaf area, leaf nitrogen, and canopy density. The main role of weather conditions on downy mildew infections was ascertained, yet high canopy sunlight levels reduced disease spread under grass cover. For powdery mildew, leaf nitrogen had a crucial role in disease development under soil tillage, and canopy light and hygrothermal conditions had the most relevant function on disease development in cover-cropped vineyards.
Highlights
Cover crops represent a valid soil cultivation strategy for vineyard management from both an agronomic and ecosystemic perspective [1,2,3,4]
The effects of different soil management techniques—conventional tillage versus grass or legume cover crops—on downy and powdery mildew development in vineyards were evaluated under Mediterranean climate conditions, during a three-season study period
Disease development varied across the seasons, since precipitation, air temperature, and humidity during spring are the main climatic factors affecting P. viticola and E. necator infection processes and a great interannual variability in the pattern of this variables characterizes Mediterranean climate conditions
Summary
Cover crops represent a valid soil cultivation strategy for vineyard management from both an agronomic and ecosystemic perspective [1,2,3,4]. These techniques greatly favor soil fertility and structure conservation while improving water infiltration and preserving the groundwater reservoir [5,6,7,8]. Under Mediterranean climate conditions, the presence of a cover crop in the vineyard may lead to reductions in vine vigor and canopy density [19,20], due to water and nutrient competition [5,7,10,11], without a significant reduction in berry production and composition, compared to conventional tillage [16]. Some authors have observed a beneficial effect on the microclimatic conditions for bunch ripening [6,18,20] and, in some cases, a reduction in the incidence of cryptogamic diseases [12,21]
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