Crop Diversification in Viticulture with Aromatic Plants: Effects of Intercropping on Grapevine Productivity in a Steep-Slope Vineyard in the Mosel Area, Germany

Felix Dittrich, Thomas Iserloh, Cord-Henrich Treseler, Roman Hüppi, Sophie Ogan, Manuel Seeger and Sören Thiele-Bruhn
Additional contact information
Felix Dittrich: Department of Soil Science, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany
Thomas Iserloh: Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany
Cord-Henrich Treseler: Winery Dr. Frey, 54441 Kanzem, Germany
Roman Hüppi: Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Sophie Ogan: Department of Biogeography, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany
Manuel Seeger: Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany
Sören Thiele-Bruhn: Department of Soil Science, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: The effects of intercropping grapevine with aromatic plants are investigated using a multi-disciplinary approach. Selected results are presented that address the extent to which crop diversification by intercropping impacts grapevine yield and must quality, as well as soil water and mineral nutrients (NO 3 -N, NH 4 -N, plant-available K and P). The experimental field was a commercial steep-slope vineyard with shallow soils characterized by a high presence of coarse rock fragments in the Mosel area of Germany. The field experiment was set up as randomized block design. Rows were either cultivated with Riesling ( Vitis vinifera L.) as a monocrop or intercropped with Origanum vulgare or Thymus vulgaris . Regarding soil moisture and nutrient levels, the topsoil (0–0.1 m) was more affected by intercropping than the subsoil (0.1–0.3 m). Gravimetric moisture was consistently lower in the intercropped topsoil. While NO 3 -N was almost unaffected by crop diversification, NH 4 -N, K, and P were uniformly reduced in topsoil. Significant differences in grapevine yield and must quality were dominantly attributable to climate variables, rather than to the treatments. Yield stabilization due to intercropping with thyme and oregano seems possible with sufficient rainfall or by irrigation. The long-term effects of intercropping on grapevine growth need further monitoring.

Keywords: perennial cropping systems; grape production; medicinal and aromatic plants; grapevine yield; must quality; experimental design (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/2/95/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/2/95/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:95-:d:485922

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().