The wine world is becoming more discerning in its tastes. Customers are now far more focused on wine quality and many markets are interested in how the wine was produced. One of the keys to future success is being able to show your customers how your wine was produced with sustainable and environmentally conscious practices.
A vineyard is a widely spaced row crop and the use of drip irrigation means traditional soil moisture sensors can struggle to characterise the soil water status due to the extremely variable soil water conditions.
A typical installation in a vineyard consists of 1 or 2 sensors per site.
A sensor can be installed in the main root zone on a slope to integrate the water content both horizontally (down row) and vertically (over the root zone). The deeper (optional) horizontal sensor is often referred to as a ‘check sensor’. It can be placed below the main root zone and will highlight if you are over-watering and also highlight the onset of stress.
Avoid over-watering
The aquaflex sensor will indicate when you need to irrigate. The savings in water can be substantial without even considering the fact that you may be able to reduce the effects of too much vigor in the vines, and the cost savings of not having to deal with excess canopy growth.
Optimise production
Production can be improved by balancing soil temperatures and irrigation application.
Quality is not an accident; it is the result of intelligent thinking - Barry Feickert, Redwood Pass Vineyard, Marlborough, NZ
Assist with difficult irrigation management decisions
Without reliable soil moisture monitoring it is very difficult to determine the current soil water status and the actions that must be taken to induce enough stress to reduce the vegetative growth or control fruit size.
We have been using Aquaflex on the vineyard for more than five years now. Aquaflex has become an essential tool to help with soil moisture management. It is easy to use. The data provided is easy to interpret and has proven to be very reliable - Lloyd Steffert Vineyard Manager, Waihopai Estates, Constellation NZ
Environmental Stewardship
Installing a soil moisture monitoring system will help you prove your environmental management systems are robust.
