Quality and fertility of soils dedicated to the crop of <em>Vitis vinifera</em> L., var. Albariño in the district of the Salnés (Galicia)

Abstract

This work tries to know the quality and fertility of soils dedicated to the crop of Vitis vinifera L., var. Albariño, taking into account the time of implantation of the crop and farm works employed. Four farms have been selected in Meis (Pontevedra, Spain) where vineyard in grown with different antiquity in the implantation of this monocrop. One is three years old, two are six years old (one on a slope and other on a terrace) and the last one is seventy-five years old in the vineyard implantation. On other hand as reference controls three soils with natural vegetation of the area were chosen. In the selected soils quality and fertility soil indicators were determined. To do that it was evaluated the effect of the monocrop on different physical and chemical properties of the soils in two depths, surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (20-40cm). The knowledge of the present state of the soils and their evolutive trends will allow us to correct possible desequilibra, to increase fertility and productivity maintaining soil and vineyard quality. All data were submitted to a statistic analysis, carrying out Levene test, ANOVAS and DMS. Partial correlation of the different parameters studied was made too, so as to observe possible relations among them. The texture of all soils is mainly sandy, and in most of them the water movement is ruled by forces with a gravitatory origin that determine the water flow in depth without flooding danger. Rockiness decreases with the age of the crop in two studied depths. Generally talking every soil is characterised by having a neuter pH with acid tendency, pointing up the high pH of the subsurface layer of the oldest vineyard significantly different from the rest. The contents of organic matter decreases with the crop implantation time in the surface area, on the contrary the values of organic matter in the subsoil of different vineyards do not show significant differences statistically talking. The C/N relation is adequate in every soil and there aren’t differences among the soils of vineyards with different age. Neither exist differences among the available P contents in the surface layer of the soils of different age, while in the subsurface increases this content with the age of vineyard. The contents of exchangeable Ca and the effective capacity of cationic exchange are higher in the oldest vineyards soils, though they are relatively low in all of them. In the surface area the level of exchangeable bases is adequate and equilibrated with a pH close to neutrality and low contents of exchangeable Al. In the surface layer the content of available Cu increases with the organic matter content and the age of vineyard. In every soils studied there is deficit of Zn in both layers. Organochlorine pesticides levels are relatively high in all vineyards while organophosphorus compound levels are practically null. Chemical fertility of the soil increases generally with the age of the crop though its maintenance requires modifying the cultural practices in order to avoid the diminishing organic matter content and the increasing Cu and organochlorine pesticides concentrations.

Keywords

• soil
• vineyard
• quality
• fertility