Inter-Row Grass Cover Impacts on Water Availability in Southeastern USA Vineyards.

Producing high quality wine grapes in the southeastern USA is a challenge because desirable European grape varieties (V. vinifera) are typically adapted to drier climates. The relatively wet climate and slow internal drainage for soils in the Piedmont and Mountain regions of the Southeast lead to moist vineyard conditions with excessive vegetative vine growth and increased disease pressure. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of inter-row grass cover management on soil water availability and vine water status. We hypothesized that increasing the width of the grass sward within the inter-row (i.e., increasing water competition) would favorably limit soil water availability for the vines. Data including soil water content (2 depths x 3 positions), stem water potential, and weather parameters were collected from three grass strip width treatments (4 reps) over three years in a North Carolina commercial vineyard. Analysis of results is on-going and will be summarized in the presentation.