Vegetative, productive and qualitative performance of grapevine “Cabernet Sauvignon” according to the use of winter cover crops

Resumen

To study the effect of winter cover crops on the vegetative, productive and qualitative behavior of “Cabernet
Sauvignon” grapevines, an experiment was conducted in two wine harvests by sowing different species of winter cover
crops and additional treatments with manual weeding and mechanical mowing in an experimental vineyard located at the
Experimental Station of Epagri in Videira, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Plant attributes of the grapevine, such as number
of rods and weight of pruned material and number of branches per plant. At the time of skin color change, petioles of
recently matured leaves were collected for analysis of the levels of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and B. Moments before
harvest, 100 grape berries were collected randomly to determine the total soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH. At
harvest, the number of bunches per branch, the number and mass of clusters per plant and the average mass of clusters
per plot were determined. Fresh and dry matter yields of the cover crop and weed plants were also determined when
coverage reached full bloom. The winter cover crops did not alter the yield and quality of “Cabernet Sauvignon” grapes
and showed no differences from each other for the management of spontaneous vegetation by hand weeding or
mechanical mowing. Rye and ryegrass are effective alternatives for weed control alternatives. The species of white and
red clover present difficulty in initial establishment, producing a small amount of biomass.