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FEATURE Fresh approaches to providing vine nutrition
Fertilisers & Nutrition
Fresh approaches to providing vine nutrition
Winegrape growers have faced increasing costs pressures since vital supplies were disrupted by pandemic lockdowns, global shipping delays and the fallout from war in Ukraine. Australia has long been almost entirely dependent on overseas imports when it it’s come to fertilisers. Harrison Davies digs up potential new straegies to overcome the challenges assocaited with providing nutrition to vines.
Commodity prices have made significant jumps higher following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The conflict also led to global supplies of certain goods being disrupted or, in the case of natural gas, cut off altogether to western European markets. While the effects of the war may have had a greater impact outside of Australia and New Zealand, one consequence that local prodcuers have been unable to avoid has been reduced access to crucial supplies of fertiliser, with the cost of this contiuining to increase over many months. Many Australian producers have traditionally been reliant on supplies of urea-based fertiliser, which have long been sourced from exporting countries such as Russia, China and Egypt. Analysis from Rabobank has shown that while phosphate and potash-based fertiliser have prices eased over the month of August, urea has continued to increase.
RaboResearch general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Stefan Vogel, said that costs could continue to increase going well into the next year. “For the Australian food and agri sector, the implications of the planned next round of EU sanctions on Russia are therefore more negative than positive as prices of farming outputs like grains are expected to move substantially less upward than those of input costs like energy and, to some degree, fertiliser,” he said.
“Fertiliser prices elevate with grain prices and the current high price period is not an exception. “And while Australia does not typically import much of its fertiliser needs from the Black Sea region, we are importing most of our needs from the world market and therefore we will still face a tough fertiliser market in the coming months. “Australia may face some temporary shortages for certain products as key import competitors like Brazil and India will also try to secure their needs in the global market. “Given Australia’s import dependence for fertiliser, our fertiliser chain is more vulnerable than usual.”
Security in the face of uncertainty
Sustainability is at the centre of the wine industry’s strategy going forward, and creating security in regards to fertiliser supply fits into this approach. There has been a growing emphasis on planting native cover crops and cultivating vineyards to grow stronger without the need of outside assistance like fertiliser or pesticides. Eden Hall viticulturist Dan Falkenberg said there were more options for producers to go without the use of chemicals.
“There are many non-chemical and biological products on the market where growers can switch from chemical to natural and biological easily with similar or better results,” he said. “The other alternative is for producers to make their own biological fertilisers like compost, where products can be sourced easily and closes the loop in recycling; the use of biological/compost teas and extracts can all be produced and applied for as little as a few dollars a hectare.
Eden Hall viticulturist Dan Falkenberg.
Stefan Vogel
“Equipment to brew can be made cheaply and easily and is a cost effective and natural way for improving vineyard and soil health.”
Falkenberg, alongside other viticulturists like Dr Mary Retallack, has been actively encouraging producers to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices. Wine Australia has also announced $2.2 million in funding for producers to plant cover crops and adopt methods of viticulture that are less taxing on their land.
Falkenberg added that there were simple benefits for producers to move away from synthetic chemicals in the vineyard. “The advantages of using a non-chemical product is numerous. It improves the soil structure, it will not harm grapevines with over fertilisation since it is ultimately a slow-release fertiliser,” he said. “It has little risk or no risk of toxic buildup of deadly chemicals and salts, it is renewable, sustainable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly.” Larger wine companies have chased more sustainable methods not only as part of their environmental goals but
RaboResearch general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Stefan Vogel. Photo: Rabobank
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Sustainable vineyard practices could provide a way to lower dependence on chenical fertilisers
Dan Falkenberg
also for the cost savings they can provide – on top of being less expensive, nonchemical fertiliser processes are much more consistent.
The Endeavour Group, which has recently made several notable winery acquisitions, has released a sustainability plan for the coming years. Endeavour examined the effects of implementing the plan from the case study of their Chapel Hill vineyards in McLaren Vale.
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It’s expected that temporary shortages of imported fertiliser products could hit Australian producers in the coming months
composting, which reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers and preserves the soil for long-term productivity. Winemaker Michael Fargos said they have found the new goals to be an important priority. “The collated information supplied as part of [Sustainable Winegrowing Australia] annual reporting allows for benchmarking against other vineyards and wineries and helps us identify areas for improvement,” Fargos said. “We can be proactive, rather than reactive, in our management of the site.” Falkenberg said there were many incentives to chase more sustainable viticultural practises, if for nothing else, then to simply avoid the price hikes of fertiliser.
“Considering the ongoing and rising costs of chemicals, the incentives to growers to switch to biological systems are considerable due to their availability and benefits to environment and human health,” he said. “In addition, biofertilisers are cost effective when compared to synthetic fertilisers.
“[Producers should] utilise a transition period where biologicals are phased in over several seasons and the synthetic fertilisers are reduced and phased out overtime also. Speak with other growers who have made the change and do your ownresearch,” he concluded.
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BioGuano™ sweetens the yield of
winegrapes
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