Increased yield from the vines

Increasing the yield in wine-growing

In vineyards, spraying the leaves with MK Soil is an effective alternative to plant protection products. This increases both the total yield per vine and the total amount of sugar per vine significantly and also results in a considerable reduction in Peronospora (downy mildew).

Vines all over the world suffer from a range of diseases that are difficult to treat. Countless different products, some of them harmful to the environment, are used to combat these diseases. But, as Alberto Vercesi from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan has demonstrated, MK Soil is an effective alternative.

The trial

Over a period of three years, he investigated the effects of the Multikraft product on the Malvasia di Candia aromatica grape variety in the Oltrepò Pavese wine-growing area, a D.O.C. region.

Results

The spray solution with Multikraft preparations (MK) (3 to 4 hectolitres per hectare) significantly inhibited the growth of Plasmopara viticola and therefore of downy mildew, particularly with the addition of low doses of copper (100 g/hl).

The Multikraft preparations considerably increased the iron content of the leaves, which boosted the yield of the vines by up to 85 per cent. In addition, there was an increase of up to 72 per cent in the total amount of sugar per vine.

Note: The attacks of Peronospora could only be studied during the first two years of the trial, because in May and June 2009 the weather was very warm and very dry (6 mm of rain) and therefore there were no attacks of downy mildew.