Can cover crops extract enough water to control vine vigour?

摘要

THE WINE REGIONS in the south of Western Australia are characterised by high annual rainfall occurring mostly in winter and spring. Many of these regions also have soils with high water-holding capacity. Excessive soil moisture can make it difficult to control vine vigour. Irrigation techniques such as Regulated Deficit Irrigation, which has been used successfully to reduce vegetative growth and improve fruit quality, can not usually be applied in these wine regions during the critical 'fruitset-to-veraison' period because of soil moisture reserves.