More and more winegrowers in the canton of Vaud are sowing high-biomass, overwintering temporary plant cover crops commonly known as "green manures" in summer or autumn. Developments that began in 2015 in the canton of Vaud have led to the emergence of two mixtures specifically for viticulture, which have been marketed since 2018 by the seed companies UFA and OHS. These two mixtures should be further optimised on the basis of feedback from numerous Vaud winegrowers in order to minimise failures and better adapt them to the conditions of terraced vineyards, where they can also help to reduce the use of herbicides and fertilisers. The project therefore aims to optimise and create new mixes of "wintering temporary plant cover" adapted to the different constraints and configurations of the Vaud vineyards.
The project consists of three parts:
The aim of the project is to produce optimised, versatile mixtures of overwintering cover crops, which are free of problematic species and create maximum biomass outside the vine cycle. Furthermore, the development of soil, vineyard and cover systems that are more resistant to climate change, require fewer additives and at the same time produce balanced and productive vines is planned.
Project manager
