Sébastien Debuisson¹, Marine Le Moigne², Mathieu Grelier¹,
Sébastien Evain², Laurent Panigai¹, Zoran G. Cerovic³

¹CIVC, 5 rue Henri-Martin, boîte postale 135, Epernay, France

²Force-A, Université Paris Sud, Bât 503, Orsay, France                                             

³Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, CNRS, UMR 8079, Université Paris Sud, Bât 362, Orsay, France

Vine vigor is an important indicator of vineyard heterogeneity and of the influence of the climate. The identification of patterns of spatial and temporal variations will be determinant for wine technician in Champagne in order to understand the effects of soil, climate and topography to establish rules of decision. These decision rules will be useful to the winegrower to succeed in homogenizing the vigor within a block. The determination of patterns of variations can indeed lead to the implementation of inputs management such as differential winter pruning, the timing and the rate of fertilizer and pesticide applications during the season. Moreover, in other wine regions, a relationship was demonstrated between vine vigor and grape quality¹: patterns of low vigor are matched by patterns of higher grape quality.

The aim of the present study was to embed two optical sensors, Multiplex and Greenseeker, coupled with a RTK dGPS on a same tractor to determine patterns of variation in vine vigor. Measurements were recorded weekly during the growth season 2009 on Plumecoq, an experimental parcel of the CIVC in Champagne. There, all three Champagne varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier) are planted in a latin square to minimise soil and micro-climate effects. The combination of both sensors allows to have complementary information: GreenseekerTM provides NDVI indices and Multiplex® additional parameters such as the leave chlorophyll content (index SFR) and a Nitrogen Balance Index (NBI). The measuring principle of Multiplex® is based on the chlorophyll fluorescence screening method^2,3. Thanks to both sensors, we hope to define precisely the influence of grape variety on patterns of variation in vine vigor. Moreover, the vigour maps obtained will be compared with maps of soil depth, soil texture, soil resistivity, yield and grape quality at harvest.

References :
¹Lamb, D., Weedon, M.M., Bramley, R.G.V. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res, 2004, 10, 46-54
²Agati, G., Meyer, S., Matteini, P., Cerovic, Z.G. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55, 1053-1061.
³Cerovic, Z. G., Moise N., Agati G., Latouche G., Ben Ghozlen N., Meyer S. J. Food Comp. Anal., 2008, 21, 650-654.