South Africa Wine Research Projects 2025

2. VITICULTURE RESEARCH NEW PROJECT

2.3 SOIL AND WATER

EVALUATION OF SOIL HEALTH INDICATORS IN THE STELLENBOSCH WINE GRAPE REGION

SU SS AH 25-01 Prof Ailsa Hardie-Pieters, Department of Soil Science, Stellenbosch University Start date: 2025

AIM AND INDUSTRY RELEVANCE: Soil health is challenging for growers to manage due to limited scientific research available on the topic, particularly in commercial vineyards in South Africa. Although numerous soil health tests are available to growers, their importance to winegrape production is unclear, and there is no benchmark for these indicators. The project goal is to assess the relevance of soil health indicators to the functions of wine grape soil health and establish benchmark values for these in dicators. A modified soil health assessment framework based on soil texture will be used in com mercial vineyards, focusing on the Stellenbosch region as a starting point. The results derived from this study can serve as a foundation for designing studies in other winegrape production areas to establish region-specific soil health assessment frameworks.

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SOUTH AFRICA WINE RESEARCH 2025