Winter is coming to an end and spring is almost here. It is an exciting time of year for much of the country, as the vineyards start to develop their full canopy and transform the manicured vineyards in the Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Central Otago to name a few, into a picturesque landscape.
In the vineyard grapevines are now starting to come out of the slow period with the vines in critical and fragile state. Budbreak and flowering are beginning to take place, getting ready for a new crop of grapes, and ultimately the next wine vintage. At this point in time the vines have started pulling up water from the earth, preparing for production. “Budbreak” is when the tiny buds on the vine begin to swell and create shoots and eventually leaves. This is crucial for the photosynthesis process of the plant.
With the mild winter experienced in many regions around New Zealand it is likely that most vineyards are experiencing an earlier budbreak. Warmer soils will encourage earlier budbreak, than those in cooler soils. Even the soil type makes a difference. Clay soils tend to be cooler, and retain more water. These soils will delay budbreak, versus rocky soils which can actually retain the suns energy, and are warmer.
Enhancing Budbreak with Microbes
Spring and budbreak is also the perfect time to increase soil biology and the microbial diversity in the soil, understorey and plant of your vineyard. This helps improve the vine health, increase fertiliser effectiveness and stimulate natural processes in order to give the vines the best opportunity to thrive. Effective microorganisms (EM) is the perfect product to get these results. EM is microbial inoculants that will increase the balance of good microbes around the vineyard while also increase composting speed, improving soil fertility and so much more.
Four main applications of EM on Vineyards and Wineries
- Soil applied, to increase biology, stimulate natural soil processes and enhance fertiliser efficacy when combined together at application
- Foliar applied, to increase vine health, reduce pathogens and populate the vines with healthy populations of beneficial microbes
- Compost making, using the anaerobic system
- Waste-water system, dosing to control bad odour and improve the function of the system
For more information on EM and using Microbes in vineyards please contact EMNZ.
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