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Technology and Management Practices

South Tyrol has about 5,100 hectares of vineyards located mainly on hillsides or hilly areas between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level. About 5,000 wine-growers cultivate these vineyards, resulting in an average cultivation area of about one hectare per farm. Due to the small farm size and extreme terrain, the majority of grapes in South Tyrol are still cultivated in a costly and labour-intensive way. Depending on the training system and the level of mechanisation, wine-growers spend between 400 and 700 working hours annually for every hectare of land.

In the last few years, mechanisation in the vineyard has increased, particularly on larger farms, and due to increased sharing of machinery between farms. Especially on small-scale farms, however, there is still a significant need for streamlining cultivation procedures. Research is thus geared towards seeking solutions that help optimise the workflow and towards finding simple technical improvements and mechanisation options. These solutions must be ecologically sound, safe for workers, and have minimal or no effect on grape quality.

The focal points of the sector for Technology and Management Practices include:

• Mechanisation systems
• Streamlining workflow
• Alternatives to herbicides
• Methods of yield assessment
• Testing of various tools