Winetech Technical Yearbook 2022

MAY

GEN-Z – 2021 COVER CROP DEMOS

FIVE GROWER DEMO DAYS WERE HELD IN OCTOBER 2021 AT GEN-Z COVER CROP DEMO SITES WHICH WERE ESTABLISHED IN COLLABORATION WITH ENTHUSIASTIC GROWERS AND SEED SUPPLIERS, BARENBRUG AND AGRICOL. A TOTAL OF 68 GROWERS, VINEYARD MANAGERS AND VITICULTURISTS ATTENDED THESE GROWER DAYS WHICH TOOK PLACE IN ROBERTSON, BREEDEKLOOF, RAWSONVILLE AND STELLENBOSCH. APART FROM DEMONSTRATING THE PERFORMANCE OF A VARIETY OF MIXTURES UNDER A PARTICULAR SET OF CONDITIONS, THE DEMOS ARE AIMED AT PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO INTERACT AND SHARE COVER CROP AND OTHER VINEYARD MANAGEMENT-RELATED EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS.

BY EMMA CARKEEK

Attendees at the Gen-Z Grower Demo Day held in October 2021 at Welgevallen Experimental Farm in Stellenbosch.

COVER CROPS ARE A VALUABLE TOOL IN vineyard management systems and can make numerous agro-ecological contri butions to a vineyard production system: • Increase soil organic carbon (SOC) over time. • Aid in soil moisture retention and wa ter infiltration. • Improve soil aggregate stability. • Limit run-off and erosion. • Suppress weeds. • Increase biodiversity. The Gen-Z Vineyard Project established 11 cover crop demos in total in April - May 2021, in collaboration with Agricol and Barenbrug. Seed for the seven demos re ported on here was supplied by Barenbrug and mix recommendations provided by Ivan Jansen van Rensburg (Barenbrug). A sample area of each plot was harvest ed and the mix components separately weighed, as well as the weeds harvested in the sample area. The components were then oven-dried and re-weighed. The data is generated from a field trial and not a scientific experiment. The data provides an indication of the total biomass produced in each plot, as well as the individual compo nents within the plots.

Emma Carkeek (Vinpro, Gen-Z) harvesting plot 1 at Klipvlei in Paarl (left), and radish harvested by Ivan Jansen van Rensburg at the Cilmor demo in Worcester (right).

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WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2022