January 19, 2023 – R&D Committee Meeting – Jamie Yearly, AAFC

Screening Alleyway and Undervine Cover Crop Species for Okanagan Valley Vineyards

Cover crops (CCs) are increasingly used in Canadian vineyards to enhance long-term productivity while improving ecosystem health. Vineyard managers are seeking the most effective cover crops species for adoption in each region. This study examined the efficacy of three alleyway and three undervine CC treatments in organic vineyards in the Okanagan Valley. This presentation focuses on data collect on the establishment, aboveground biomass, weed suppression, and carbon and nitrogen accumulation of the cover crop treatments over the 2021 growing season. Alleyway cover crop mixtures being investigated included a ryegrass, tillage radish, and white clover treatment, a fescue and white clover treatment, and a cereal rye and hairy vetch treatment. In the undervine a ladino clover treatment, a lentil treatment, and an annual rye and birdsfoot trefoil treatment were investigated.