The 4 focus of the operative group

The operative group for innovation VIRECLI – Viticulture Resilient to Climate Changes – explores the potentialities of precision farming as an available tool for wineries to meet their challenges, now and in the future.

The operative group will work on this topic, focusing on 4 areas:

1.Irrigation 4.0 in order to optimize the management of the multiple summer stresses while maintaining the grape quality through precision irrigation. A microirrigation test will be set-up, using a variable rate technology designed by taking into consideration the soil variability within the vineyard and managed using rational criteria

2. Soil management in order to increase the vineyard resilience to extreme rain events or drought and to reduce the superficial landslides and erosion phenomena impact in order to limit the structural damages to the vineyards and the organic substance losses

3.Oenological practices with the objective to test new wine stabilization technics effective to maintain the palate freshness

4.Alternative canopy management in order to:

• Assess the effect of the space variability within the vineyard on the fertility of basal buds of variety characterized by productive alternation and a low basal fertility as Croatina
• Experiment late winter pruning in order to postpone bud break to avoid damages due to spring frost e to obtain a better freshness of the grape if the initial phenological delay is maintained until ripening.