On-farm trial updates
With OFRF technical support, Jorge is now conducting a paired comparison where 10 grapevines with mulch will be compared with 10 vines with no mulch. Jorge applied 3 inches high of mulch around the vine (about a 4 feet area for each vine) in late May. He has marked the trial area with stakes identifying each plant.
To compare the moisture levels of the two treatments, Jorge purchased a soil moisture sensor. To date, he has conducted two measurements, one in late June, and one in mid-July. Based on those readings, Jorge already sees a clear winner: The soil around the mulched grapevines have consistently been showing good moisture levels, while the readings around the un-mulched plants show dry conditions. This is confirmed by Jorge’s own observations: “The mulch is like a double win, the mulch holds the moisture for longer and it suppresses the weeds as well… There are also a lot of creatures and biological activity in the mulched areas, while just putting the soil probe into the un-mulched areas was a challenge, as the soil was hard,” Jorge said.
Image: Side-by-side trials of mulched and un-mulched grape vines.
Jorge has not cut back on irrigation, but after seeing the immediate effects of mulch, he is considering doing so, which would represent some energy and cost savings. In terms of weed suppression, the pictures Jorge took of the plants in late June are striking (see attached pictures). The mulch successfully suppressed weed growth and can represent some labor savings in the long term. Finally, Jorge is curious to know if the mulch will have an effect on the grapes’ sugar content levels. He is planning to conduct these measurements at harvest through a Brix meter.
Below images: un-mulched grape vines on left and mulched grape vines on right.
