Autonomous Mowing and Turf-Type Bermudagrass as Innovations for An Environment-Friendly Floor Management of a Vineyard in Coastal Tuscany

Simone Magni, Mino Sportelli, Nicola Grossi, Marco Volterrani, Alberto Minelli, Michel Pirchio, Marco Fontanelli, Christian Frasconi, Monica Gaetani, Luisa Martelloni, Andrea Peruzzi, Michele Raffaelli, Marco Mazzoncini, Daniele Antichi, Giovanni Caruso, Giacomo Palai, Alberto Materazzi, Gabriele Vittori and Lisa Caturegli
Additional contact information
Simone Magni: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Mino Sportelli: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Nicola Grossi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Marco Volterrani: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Alberto Minelli: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Michel Pirchio: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Marco Fontanelli: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Christian Frasconi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Monica Gaetani: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Luisa Martelloni: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Andrea Peruzzi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Michele Raffaelli: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Marco Mazzoncini: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Daniele Antichi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Giovanni Caruso: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Giacomo Palai: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Alberto Materazzi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Gabriele Vittori: Golf Club Livorno srl, 57128 Livorno, Italy
Lisa Caturegli: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The establishment of permanent cover crops is becoming a common practice in vineyard floor management. Turfgrass science may provide species and techniques with a high potential for improving the sustainability of vineyard floor management. Based on this assumption, an experiment was carried out during 2018 and 2019 at the Donna Olimpia Vineyard, Bolgheri, Italy. The trial aimed at comparing an innovative floor management system based on a turf-type cultivar of bermudagrass mown with an autonomous mower with a conventional floor management system. Ground cover percentage, energy consumption, CO 2 emissions, grapevine water status, leaf nitrogen content, fruit yield and must composition have been assessed in order to perform the comparison. The innovative vineyard floor management produced an almost complete ground cover (98%) at the end of the second growing season, with the resident species reduced to a small percentage (4%). Resident species growing under-trellis were efficiently controlled without herbicide applications. A lower primary energy consumption and a reduction in CO 2 emissions were observed for the innovative management system compared to the conventional management system. Grapevine water status, leaf chlorophyll content, soil–plant analyses development (SPAD), fruit yields and must composition were similar between the different soil management systems. Based on results obtained in this trial, turf-type bermudagrass and innovative mowing machines may contribute to enhance the sustainability of vineyard floor management.

Keywords: soil protection; robotic mower; turfgrass; innovative agronomic practice; soil management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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