What is the best mixture of cover crops for your vineyard?

irstly, there is no silver bullet. “Introducing cover crops must be part of a holistic approach covering the entire farm”, stresses the Pyrenees-Orientales chamber of commerce in the South of France, which has provided farmers with a new decision-making resource called ‘Agrocouverts’ or agricultural cover crops.

The free Excel file suggests different mixtures based on the results of the Estimation Method for the Potential Output of Intermediate Crops conducted on trials rolled out by the chamber of agriculture. The choice depends on the agronomic objective (nitrogen, organic matter…), the desired benefits (combatting weeds, soil structuring…), the time of sowing (September to December), the planting method (broadcast sowing with rolling, direct drill, sowing with a strip drill…) and the method of removal (crushing, stubble ploughing, tillage, grazing, chemicals…).

Between one and five mixtures are suggested based on the criteria provided, with their sowing densities and price per hectare. The decision aid also enables growers to make up their own mixtures and to calculate their fertiliser savings.