Introduction — The Focus Vineyard Project
The Focus Vineyard programme is a three-year project funded by the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund and the New Zealand wine industry. The aim of the project is to investigate best practice techniques within the industry and improve the adoption of this best practice.
Between 1994 and 2002 the area under grapes in NZ increased from 6,680 to 18,247 hectares and continues to rise. This rapid increase in production has in many cases gone ahead of the ability of the industry to predict the impact on natural resources. A large range of applied research has been conducted in the industry over this time, with varying degrees of uptake and implementation. This project seeks to bring together this vast quantity of information and integrate it into existing management systems with a focus on sustainable wine growing.
The Focus Vineyard programme also encompasses the project 'Gimblett Gravels - wine without environmental compromise'.
Hawke's Bay and Marlborough have formed a network of 'Focus Vineyards' representing distinct grape growing environments and management systems in each region. These vineyards will provide a platform for investigating best practice techniques through base data collection on each property and applied research projects over the three-year life of the project. Technology transfer is taking place via:
- Field days
- Workshops
- Industry publications
- Industry conferences and meetings
- Project website
The key areas of research for the Focus Vineyard Programme are:
- Quantification of costs of production for better management of limited resources
- Optimising water usage while improving grape and wine quality
- Improving the low levels of yeast available nitrogen in juice from grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels
- Improving soil condition and optimising vine nutrient supply
- Understanding the relationship between soil and plant health
- Understanding integrated and biological control of pests and diseases
- Understanding pesticide risk reduction and effective use if pesticides, without compromising plant health and production
Documents
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