Project Number: 5358-21000-042-02
Project Type: Grant

Start Date: Aug 26, 2009
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
1. Determine the impact of maintaining cover crops in vineyard alleyways on vine growth and development. 2. Determine the extent of biomass generation of cover crops and nutritional contribution to young vines. 3. Evaluate weed biomass and emergence in vine rows and in alleyways. 4. Evaluate the effects of alleyway cover crop management on soil moisture, rooting patterns of young vines.

Approach:
Pruning weights will be measured at the beginning of the study to establish a baseline of the vine size prior to the treatment season and at the end of each year of the study to determine vine size and vegetative growth of the vines in response to treatments. Mowing of cover crop will be performed up to two times in a growing season with the first mowing taking place in spring. Treatments will be mowed when the cover crop stand reaches a pre-determined level of biomass appropriate to mulching. Density of cover crop stands will be observed with a random sample taken with a quarter meter square quadrant placed randomly into the treatment. Weed biomass between rows will be evaluated in tandem with cover crop biomass, by manually separating weed and cover crop biomass within the quarter meter square quadrant samples, taken just before mowing. Soil moisture within the vine row and alleyway will be monitored bi-weekly from mid-June through September using gravimetric soil moisture determination (w/w), with early season measurements in May. Measures from June-September will be concurrent with measurement of vine water use efficiency. Documents Grant with Oregon State University. Formerly 5358-12210-003-13G (8/2011).