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Viticulture – Improved Understanding of Grapevine Nutrients and their Management Session
June 18, 2026 | 1:30 pm – 2:50 pm | Location: Grand Ballroom 100B
Research Reports
Moderator:
To be announced.
Speakers:
| 1:30 pm – 1:50 pm | Partitioning of Foliar and Fruit-applied Nitrogen in Grapevines Pierre Davadant, University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
| 1:50 pm – 2:10 pm | Nitrogen Management in the Mid-Atlantic: Insights from Four Fertilization Field Experiments in Virginia Andrew Harner, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Winchester |
| 2:10 pm – 2:30 pm | Vine Nitrogen Dynamics: Rootstocks Alter Pinot Noir Growth and Productivity More than Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen Grace E. Lilly, Oregon State University, Corvallis |
| 2:30 pm – 2:50 pm | Budgeting Nutrient Removal in Vineyards in Dry Climates Nataliya Shcherbatyuk, Washington State University, Prosser |
Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado* | Kerri Steenwerth | Mallika Nocco | Erika Yao | Cristina Lazcano |
Luisa Robles
Ideal Vineyard Soils from Grower Perspectives Ddiverge from Traditional Soil Health Paradigms
Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado,* Kerri Steenwerth, Mallika Nocco, Erika Yao, Cristina Lazcano
and Luisa Robles
*USDA-ARS and UC Davis, 1110 Plant & Environmental Sciences Building, LAWR Department, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616-8627, ngonzalezmaldonado@ucdavis.edu
Soil health is essential for sustainable winegrape production. However, soil health metrics and guides designed from annual cropping systems may not correspond to needs and goals for winegrape production. The traditional soil health paradigm promotes organic matter accumulation and turnover to enhance nutrient cycling and maximize crop yield, while vineyard management focuses on balancing vine vigor and optimizing grape quality. This study aimed to identify soil health indicators associated with growers’ desired vineyard outcomes, while accounting for soil properties, management, and sampling variability. Soil samples were collected from 16 grower-identified ideal and 16 challenging vineyard soils. Soils were rated based on their ability to regulate vine vigor and produce high grape quality in Napa Valley. Samples from vine rows and tractor rows (0 to 20 cm depth) were analyzed for total carbon (TC), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), mineralizable C (Min C), microbial biomass C (MBC), dissolved organic C, total N, plant-available N (NO3–-N, NH4+-N), potentially mineralizable N (PMN), pH, EC, bulk density, wet aggregate stability (WAS), penetration resistance, and infiltration rate. Soil texture was a key factor influencing soil health indicators and growers’ differentiation between ideal and challenging soils. Ideal soils had slightly lower levels of clay and silt content and lower TC, POXC, TN, EC, and WAS indicators. Higher soil health levels were observed in tractor rows with vegetative cover compared to bare vine rows, suggesting that soil samples should be taken from both zones. No-till practices enhanced TC, Min C, and NH4+-N. Enhancing these properties could support soil structure and resilience to extreme weather conditions. These findings emphasize the value of integrating growers’ perspectives into defining soil health with respect to distinctive winegrape production goals, highlighting the need to adapt traditional soil health frameworks to better serve perennial vineyard systems.
Funding Support: American Vineyard Foundation Western SARE USDA ARS
