A three-year $2.2 million program to encourage winegrape growers to plant cover crops, enhance soil health and increase functional biodiversity in their vineyards has been unveiled by Wine Australia.
The grass roots focused program will work with growers in 10 wine regions across four states and will include new region-specific resources and an online information portal.
About 40 demonstration sites and on-the-ground support from local co-ordinators will be included in the package.
Wine Australia research, development and adoption general manager Dr Liz Waters said the exciting step aimed to improve the sustainability and resilience of Australian vineyards.
"Extensive research shows the value in planting cover crops and groundcovers in the vineyard, particularly improving soil health and structure which provides a better foundation for grapevines," Dr Waters said.
"The Australian grape and wine community is in the midst of a challenging period, but this new initiative will provide regionally-specific and practical options for growers that will lead to improvements in sustainability and profitability.
"Biodiversity is key to improving the resilience of our vineyards and can improve sustainability by minimising the need for pest and weed control, if you get the balance right."
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The initiative would see expertise available regionally to support growers to find the best solutions for their vineyards.
The program will be rolled out by Retallack Viticulture in consultation with behavioural scientists at Evidn.
Retallack Viticulture managing director Dr Mary Retallack said the program would demonstrate ways to create and maintain functional agro-ecosystems and enhance ecosystem services within Australian vineyards.
"By growing the resilience of vineyards using supplementary flora and enhancing soil health, it is possible to reduce the need for intervention - saving valuable time and resources.
"Ecological restoration provides habitat for beneficial fauna including predatory arthropods, microbats and insectivorous birds that contribute to biocontrol of insect pests in vineyards.
"It is one of the key practices used to combat the effects of climate change."
She said it was possible to boost functional diversity by more than three times when native insectary plants were incorporated near grapevines.
"We are delighted to be supporting growers to make this transition and enhance their existing environmental stewardship practices."
The new national program is operating under the EcoVineyards banner.
It builds on the existing Landcare funded EcoVineyards program in South Australia, which is run in partnership between the Wine Grape Council of SA and Retallack Viticulture.
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Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
