Soil-Loosening Cover Crops Help Retain Water in the Landscape

Key facts:

• BOHEMIA SEKT, in cooperation with experts from Mendel University, is using a special soil-loosening plant mixture on 66 hectares of vineyards near Pavlov and Bzenec to protect them from drought.
• Made up of deep-rooting plants – mainly clover, radish and buckwheat – and sown between the vine rows, the mixture naturally loosens the soil, removes harmful compaction, improves water absorption and prevents erosion.
• The plants are later worked into the soil as fertiliser. The company plans to use this inter-row greening long-term, monitoring yield and quality against conventionally managed vineyards.

A special mixture of plants can help protect vineyards from drought. This approach, which BOHEMIA SEKT uses on 66 hectares of vineyards around Pavlov and Bzenec, was developed in cooperation with experts from Mendel University.

Sown between the rows of the vineyards, the soil-loosening mixture brings benefits both for the soil and for the plants. "When we sow it in the inter-rows of the vineyard, the plants naturally loosen the soil with their roots, which removes harmful soil compaction," said Pavel Pavloušek of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University.

The mixture is made up of plants with a deep root system – in particular clover, radish and buckwheat. A greater number of plants in the soil cools the vineyard, the loosening helps water to soak in, and it also prevents erosion. In spring or autumn, the plants are then worked into the soil and serve as fertiliser.

The company plans to use this inter-row greening project over the long term, as the soil needs sufficient time to regenerate. "We will carefully monitor the condition of the plants and the soil, and continuously evaluate yield and quality, always in comparison with vineyards under conventional management," said Libor Výleta, Viticulture Director of the BOHEMIA SEKT Group.