Can cover crops reduce arthropod pests in vineyards?

To control arthropod pests, cover crops can either directly repel harmful species or indirectly favour beneficials. In the CORE Organic Cofund project BIOVINE plant species are tested for their capacity to reduce the impact of arthropod pests

Exploatarea biodiversitatii în sistemele viticole pentru a reduce daunele provocate de dăunători și utilizarea pesticidelor și pentru a spori furnizarea de servicii ecosistemice

BIOVINE Scop: Să dezvolte noi sisteme viticole bazate pe creșterea diversității speciilor de plante și a funcționalității din cadrul viilor (de exemplu utilizarea covorului vegetal) precum și din jurul acestora (de exemplu garduri vii, zone cu vegetație). Cum? Prin plantarea speciilor de plante capabile să contribuie la controlul, reducerea pagubelor produse de dăunători, reducerea utilizării pesticidelor, creșterea serviciilor ecosistemice furnizate

Controlling the pests with the help of plants in organic vineyards

The capability of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasive species is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures (including vineyards) do not exploit the potential of plant diversity. The aims of this research are to develop new viticultural systems based on increased plant diversity within (e.g., cover crops) and/or around (e.g., hedges, vegetation spots, edgings) vineyards by planting selected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi, nematodes), and foliar pathogens. In order to control pests, plants species can either i) repel arthropod pests, ii) attract arthropod pests to a trap crop or iii) attract and/or conserve beneficials. An extensive systematic literature was performed to identify plant species suitable for repelling or attracting target pests - Lobesia botrana Den & Schiff or conserving and promoting beneficials (including parasitoids, such as ichneumonids, braconids and general predators, such as carabid beetles, ladybirds, hoverflies and spiders). Here we present the results of this literature review

Exploit biodiversity in viticultural systems to reduce pest damage and pesticide use, and increase ecosystems services provision: the BIOVINE Project

Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms (i.e., pests). The BIOVINE project aims to develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticide dependence. The capability of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasive species is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures (including vineyards) do not exploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systems based on increased plant diversity within (e.g., cover crops) and/or around (e.g., hedges, vegetation spots, edgings) vineyards by planting selected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi, nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candidate plants will be identified by a literature review, and the selected ones will be tested in controlled environment or small-scale experiments. The ability of the selected plants to: i) attract or repel target arthropod pests; ii) conserve/promote beneficials; iii) control soil-borne pests by means of biofumigation; iv) carry mycorrhizal fungi to the vine root system to increase plant health (growth and resistance); and v) control foliar pathogens by reducing the inoculum spread from soil, will be investigated. New viticultural systems able to exploit plant diversity will then be designed based on results of BIOVINE activities, following a design-assessment-adjustment cycle, which will then be tested by in-vineyard experiments in France, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland for a 2-year period. Innovative viticultural systems should represent an improved way for pest control in organic viticulture, meanwhile they should positively affect functional biodiversity and ecosystem services. New control strategies may provide financial opportunities to vine growers and lower their reliance on pesticides

Almighty Cover Crops

Fungal pathogens are able to produce inoculum (spores) on plant debris present on the soil surface of vineyards. These spores can then reach plant surfaces and cause severe grapevine infections when environmental conditions are favourable. The capacity of plant diversity to increase the resistance of crops towards pests and invasive species is very well-known. For instance, Brassica spp. have been already investigated for their capacity to effectively suppress soil-borne inoculum of some causal agents of Black-foot disease in grapevines in vineyard soils. It may also have positive effect on the some dagger nematodes. Cover crops also stimulate the development of microbial communities such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Many management strategies have been developed against these important grapevine pathogens, but the effects of soil cover vegetation or organic mulching against spore dispersal, acting as a barrier, have been scarcely explored. Thus, in the BIOVINE project (www.biovine.eu) specific experiments were planned in order to verify the possibility of using cover crops: i) to control some relevant pathogens producing inoculum (spores) on plant debris present on the soil surface of vineyards; ii) to determine the presence of causal agents of Petri disease of grapevines on the roots of cover crops; iii) to promote mykorrhizal communities associated with grapevine roots; iv) to control arthropod pests (repellent of arthropods or attracting beneficials); v) to investigate Brassica plants effect on the soil-borne pest nematode Xiphinema index

Conserve and enhance beneficials in organic vineyards (BioVine Practice abstract)

This BioVine Practice Abstract provides practical recommendations for conserving and enhancing beneficials in organic vineyards. Field trials in several European vineyards confirmed that sown cover crops favoured the abundance of arthropods and predators. In particular, predatory beetles were more abundant in vegetated vineyards than in vineyards of bare soil