A wealth of research – from soil and irrigation management to clonal evaluation, precision viticulture and water quality – is just a keystroke away for Limestone Coast growers.
The recently launched 2021 Limestone Coast Vineyard and Wine Literature Review pulls together more than 80 articles and research papers spanning the past 35 years that feature vineyards, grapes and wine in the Limestone Coast region.
The project through Wine Australia’s Regional Program was compiled by Peter Bissell and curated by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and Ulrich Grey-Smith.
“Thanks also goes to The John Fornachon Memorial Library staff for collaborating with us on the project, and the reciprocal approach to access so that nearly all the papers are available to users of our library,” said Ulrich, Executive Officer of the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council Inc.
The library also contains past workshop information and seminar recordings.
“Just use the index and search functions to go straight to the activity, paper or recording you seek,” said Ulrich.
The online library and The Literature Review is available here.
Padthaway mulching trial
Treatments and measures continue in the Padthaway mulching trial: ‘Is organic weed control beneficial for wine grape production in the Limestone Coast.
The trial aims to better understand how non-standard weed management practices such as mulching, compost with mulch and mechanical weeding compare to undervine herbicide application.
Let by principal investigator Dr Thomas Lines of The University of Adelaide, the project is now looking to expand the number of soil health demonstration sites network in 2023.
Managing extreme weather events
There were positive messages producers took home from the Managing Extreme Weather Events hybrid seminar, held in September 2021. Incumbent Nuffield Scholar Hans Loder was MC of the seminar, which featured a range of presenters and audience dial-in participation.
“The program delved into increased temperate paradigms, the accuracy of the modelling and where the Limestone Coast is positioned in this,” said Ulrich.
“We looked into typical known extreme weather events (i.e. frost, cold damage, isolated super-cells, hail) and the unknowns (humidity, heat spikes, fire weather, smoke clouds), the predictive tools (downy mildew alerts, existing ‘meso-net’ measuring networks and data sharing possibilities), and the mitigating factors (the Bonney Upwelling, vineyard design, drape nets) – and how one can use these to assist with decision making in the vineyard.”
The full four-hour recording is available in the online library.
Vignettes
The Limestone Coast Regional Program is also currently scripting and filming a series of vignettes that celebrate connection to landscape, nutrition, alternative varieties and soil health.
“We plan to produce seven short video clips that will reference regional program work undertaken in the last 10 years, and highlight take-homes and where to next.
“With our 5–6-year Regional Program contract ending soon, we will also hold an RD&E priority setting session to gauge the issues and research areas important to us – and use this in the next five-year agreement,” Ulrich said.
The session will be held on 12 May 2022 in Coonawarra. To book your spot, go to: https://limestonecoastwine.com.au/events/decide-our-rde-priorities-2022-to-2026/
Interested participants and stakeholders are encouraged to complete a pre-survey: https://limestonecoastwine.com.au/research-development-and-extension-priorities-for-2022-and-beyond/