Abstract
UNDER-VINE project aims to identify new successful vineyard soil management approaches to prevent negative effects of climate change based on the sow of cover crops to be grown during winter months and the use of their biomass to prevent water loss and occurrence of summer stress. Objective of the project is to find innovative soil management techniques capable of: i) Preserving soil from degradation process during wet season; ii) Tuning competition between vines and vineyard floor vegetation; iii) Reducing incidence of water stress during summer months; iv) Improving vineyard sustainability. The project includes two experimental vine-yards in non-irrigated hilly steep-slope and in irrigated high yielding vineyards. Results UNDER-VINE project aims to identify new successful vineyard soil management approaches to prevent negative effects of climate change based on the sow of cover crops to be grown during winter months and the use of their biomass to prevent water loss and occurrence of summer stress. Objective of the project is to find innovative soil management techniques capable of: i) Preserving soil from degradation process during wet season; ii) Tuning competition between vines and vineyard floor vegetation; iii) Reducing incidence of water stress during summer months; iv) Improving vineyard sustainability.
Results achieved
. The trial evaluated the effects of different vineyard floor management strategies on vine water status, physiological performance, yield, and grape quality in a Sangiovese vineyard over two growing seasons (2024–2025). Two different mixtures (Humusfert, a temporary grass cover solution and Sottovigneto, a permanent mixture composed by species with low vegetative development ) were combined with different soil management techniques, resulting in five treatments: temporary cover crop with green manure (T+GM), temporary cover crop with organic mulching (T+OM), temporary cover crop with windrowing (T+W), permanent cover crop with organic mulching (P+OM), permanent cover crop with windrowing (P+W). The two year research showed that concerning Water Status and Physiological Efficiency the temporary cover crop treatments (T+GM, T+OM, T+W) generally maintained higher stem water potential values than the permanent cover crop treatments (P+OM, P+W), indicating better vine water status. This difference was particularly evident in 2024, a drier year characterized by lower summer rainfall and greater water stress. In 2025, higher summer precipitation reduced overall variability among treatments, although T+GM consistently showed the highest stem water potential values. Despite the measurements of physiological activity revealed only limited statistical differences among treatments, vines under permanent cover crop management generally exhibited lower photosynthetic activity, transpiration, and stomatal conductance compared with those under temporary cover crops. Overall, temporary cover crops, particularly when managed as green manure (T+GM), improved water availability and supported higher physiological efficiency, especially under water-limited conditions. The vine yield was not affected by the different soil management in 2024. However, cluster weight and berry weight were significantly higher in T+GM and lower in P+OM and P+W. Similar trends were observed in Botrytis cinerea severity, with the highest disease incidence recorded in T+GM and the lowest in the permanent cover crop treatments. In 2025, treatment effects became more pronounced. Yield in the permanent cover crop treatments was almost half that recorded in T+GM and Botrytis severity remained positively associated with larger clusters and higher yields. These results indicate that permanent cover crops reduce vine vigor and productivity, whereas temporary cover crops, especially when incorporated as green manure, enhance grape production. The grape quality traits were mostly affected in 2025, when permanent cover crop treatments (P+OM and P+W) exhibited the highest soluble solids and anthocyanin concentrations, while T+GM recorded the lowest values. This reversal was closely linked to the lower yields observed in the permanent cover crop treatments, which likely favored the concentration of sugars and phenolic compounds in the berries. In conclusion the study highlights a clear trade-off between grape yield and grape quality showing that Temporary cover crops, particularly when managed as green manure (T+GM), improved vine water status, physiological activity, and productivity, resulting in larger clusters, larger berries, and higher yields. On the contrary permanent cover crops (P+OM and P+W) reduced vine vigor and yield but enhanced grape quality by increasing sugar accumulation and anthocyanin concentration, while also reducing Botrytis incidence. Therefore, temporary cover cropping appears to be the most suitable strategy when the objective is to maximize vine performance and yield under potentially water-limited conditions, whereas permanent cover cropping may be preferable when the goal is to improve grape composition and potential wine quality. Vines subjected to the green manure treatment exhibited the best overall performance, consistently maintaining higher yields while preserving a stable and balanced grape biochemical composition across both growing seasons. In addition, temporary cover cropping enhanced the availability of selected mineral nutrients in the soil. The different floor management strategies also appeared to influence soil microbial communities, potentially affecting their composition and activity.Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Ilaria Filippetti
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari
Coordinatore:
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 65.440,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
12/10/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
