PREMIUM, PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE BAROSSA GROWERS TRIAL. Kirsty Waller, August 2016

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1 PREMIUM, PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE BAROSSA GROWERS TRIAL Kirsty Waller, August 2016

2 PROJECT AIM Improving soil condition and vineyard management in Barossa vineyards to reduce reliance on irrigation and improve consistency of yield and vineyard profitability.

3 TRIAL SITES 2014/2015 Ebenezer Clay Loam over red brown earth Light Pass Sandy loam over clay Vine Vale Alluvial River Sands

4 TRIAL SITES 2015/2016 Eden Valley Sandy, Podzolic Soil Rosedale Red Brown Earths Rifle Range Biscay

5 WHAT DID WE DO? Primary Treatment Canopy Management Soil Treatment All vineyards have non-mulch (Control) vs mulch (Trial) 50 cm wide x 10 cm deep along undervine area Cane vs spur pruning Catch wire vs no catch wire High vs low bud count per vine Native grass vs volunteer weed / traditional crops Irrigation Installed taps to control irrigation applications Monitored soil moisture Nutrition Neutrog applications

6 VINEYARD MONITORING Initial Irrigation Efficiency/Uniformity Vineyard Uniformity Soil Analysis Leaf Tissue Analysis Ongoing / Yearly Bunch Counts / Crop Estimates Soil Moisture & Temperature Pest & Diseases / Vine Health Irrigation / Labour / Work Crop Estimates Maturity Data & Harvest Data

7 WHAT HAVE THE RESULTS SHOWN US?

8 INITIAL MONITORIING Vineyard Uniformity Irrigation Leaf Analysis Varying uniformity (50% - 99%) Dripper Outputs ( lph) Application rates used across the sites (0 1.5mm/hr) Flow Variation (10-70% variation) Petiole analysis - all within a relatively normal range Soil Health Low organic matter in most soils

9 SOIL HEALTH ORGANIC MATTER (%) Ebenezer Light Pass Rifle Range Vine Vale Control Trial 1 Trial 2 Ideal Level

10 ONGOING MONITORING Soil Temperature Soil Moisture & Irrigation Vine Health Maturity & Yield Data Data loggers in three sites MEA T-Bugs or G-Bugs at all sites - weekly Recorded hours of irrigation Pest and Diseases - every 2 weeks Canopy Health - weekly Maturity Baume - weekly Quality Data at harvest Quantity at harvest

11 SOIL TEMPERATURE LIGHT PASS Control Trial Minimum Average Maximum

12 SOIL MOISTURE GENERAL TREND Control Irrigation wet to 20cm Slight change at 40cm Jan 18 onwards soil below 40cm completely dry Trial Irrigation wet to 20cm Soil dry from 40cm from December until June Irrigation only really wetting mulch and top 20cm

13 IRRIGATION HOURS LIGHT PASS Control 184 hrs Trial 180 hrs Control 178 hrs Trial 123 hrs Control Trial Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16

14 VINE HEALTH Pest & Diseases No problems Leaf Health Eden Valley (no water) had significant canopy loss in January Shoot Length Ebenezer shoot length - control looked stunted/shorter in November Maturity & Yield Maturity Baume Quality Data at harvest Quantity at harvest

15 YIELD (T/HA) ALL SITES Control Trial 1 (cane) Trial 2 (spur) Ebenezer Eden Valley Light Pass Rifle Range Rosedale Vine Vale

16 BUNCH WEIGHTS (GRAMS) RIFLE RANGE Control 70 Trial Jan 25-Jan 1-Feb 8-Feb 15-Feb

17 BAUME EDEN VALLEY Control - Bunch Control - Berry Trial - Bunch Trial - Berry Feb 8-Feb 15-Feb 22-Feb 29-Feb

18 WINE QUALITY LIGHT PASS Tannins Total Anthocyanins Total Phenolics Tannins Total Anthocyanins Total Phenolics Control Trial

19 WINE QUALITY Comments from the floor

20 OBSERVATIONS Soil temperature under mulch is less extreme/variable than bare earth Soil structure / aeration appears to be improved under mulch more permeable Weed growth seems to be restricted Canopy health appears to be better Vines appear to be more resilient in hot weather events Soils under mulch appeared to have better rainfall permeability this winter all sites with mulch reached field capacity before the vines without mulch Soils have rall eached field capacity now, (reading 03/08) Soil Organic Matter content will need a repeat test in the future to see whether organic matter content has improved

21 THANKS TO Kevin, Lyn & Adrian Rohrlach Rolf & Christa Binder Stuart & Tammy Schutz Rob Gibson Graeme Wellman Mark Pryzabilla Sam Schiller Wendy Allen & Tony Brooks Brian Silvey Barry Hollitt Nicki Robins David Woodard Mike McCarthy Nigel Blieschke Dean Willoughby Dan Falkenberg Chris Penfold Anna Cameron Dorrien Estate Winery Peter Lehman Wines Treasury Wine Estates Rolf Binder Wines Jefferies Landmark