How to combine soil and plant indicators to manage nitrogen fertilisation in vineyards?

Context: Although grapevine nitrogen (N) needs are moderate, N fertilisation in vineyards requires carefully management because berry development, aromatic composition and hence winemaking are largely influenced by N nutrition. Our objective was to develop a method for reasoned N fertilisation between and during the seasons.

Methods: Specific sensitivities of soil and plant indicators to N supply and availability were estimated and indicator robustness was quantified using contrasted environmental conditions, crop management and N fertilisation in an experimental network comprising five vineyards in southern France over four successive years. The effects of four N fertilisation treatments combining contrasted amounts, forms and timing on the indicators were tested using linear models. Multiple factorial multiple analysis was used to study the effect of environmental and management factors on indicator sensitivity to mineral N fertilisation at budburst.

Results: Yield, soil mineral nitrogen at budburst, chlorophyll concentration (SPAD) at veraison, leaf nitrogen content and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) at harvest, were all sensitive to N fertilisation after four years. Different effects of the N treatments were observed from year three for SPAD and from year one for YAN. Additionally, SPAD and YAN indicators distinguished contrasted strategies based on different timings of N supply or the form of N fertiliser. Lastly, the response of the SPAD and YAN indicators was only slightly influenced by pedoclimatic conditions or cultural practices, at least for the variables tested here.

Conclusion: Two N indicators measured from veraison (SPAD) to harvest (YAN), can provide valuable information for tactical and long-term fertilisation decisions. Notably, early SPAD information may improve technical vineyard management of interactions between fertilisation and other practices (e.g. weed control or tillage) that interfere with plant N nutrition and enable later correction of YAN values. Combining these indicators with non-destructive imaging techniques should improve N and mineral monitoring in general.