Grapevine protection tools and strategies

Vitenova identifies virtuous grapevine protection tools and strategies in order to ensure the long-term balance between crop production and the sustainability of natural resources. We specialize in organic, integrated and biodynamic viticulture.

The goal is to provide winegrowers with the skills that are necessary to obtain high quality productions. We promote the adoption of sustainable pest management approaches and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.

Vineyard monitoring is the basis of our activity. We verify the presence of any pest and beneficial organisms, through:

• frequent visual assessment of disease symptoms (severity and/or incidence);
• the installation of traps, in order to follow the developement of the main phytophages in the vineyard;
• observation of leaves and other plant tissues under the microscope, for the identification of species and the precise quantification of populations.

Based on the results of the monitoring, we verify the threshold levels and propose different solutions according to the real risk found in the vineyard. Vitenova supports the winery at every stage of the planning of the right grapevine protection tools and strategies:

• the identification of sustainable, biological and other non-chemical methods, when they provide satisfactory pest control;
• whether and when to apply plant protection measures: the careful evaluation of decision support systems and weather data, combined with the experience of the team, ensure an optimal positioning and frequency of treatments, thus optimizing defense also from an economic point of view;
•    the choice of the active ingredient: the most selective and least impacting molecules are favoured, with the aim of reducing or minimizing the risks for non-target organisms, human health and the environment;
• the adoption of anti-resistance strategies, based on the use of multiple pesticides with different modes of action to maintain their effectivenes;
• check of the success of the applied plant protection measures , also through the drafting of summary reports about what was observed during the season.

The aim of Vitenova is supporting companies to meet the requirements established by the main production regulations and community regulations, especially as guarantee for the consumers. Therefore, we create specific phytosanitary strategies for companies that have decided to enhance their grapes’ and wines’ value through, among others, organic certification and and the National Quality System for Integrated Production italian brand.