Last July 21st, as part of the second demo event in Italy promoted by the European project Horizon Europe Oper8, the experimental vineyards were shown where innovative techniques for managing the sub-row are tested.
In particular, the innovative process implies sowing a subterranean clover in late summer/early fall under the rows (once every 3 or 4 years) that grows up until late spring-early summer, when it releases the mature seeds directly into the soil by geocarpy. In this way, the clover biomass will cover the soil in autumn, winter and spring as living mulch, and in summer as dead mulch, by avoiding so the competition for water and nutrients with the grapevines. At the end of the summer, the clover seeds will spontaneously germinate, and a new biological cycle will start under the rows, with benefits in terms of contrasting weed emergence and soil fertility improvement.
