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MATT LAMBORN Pacific Geodata, LLC / Lamborn Family Vineyards TOWLE MERRITT Walsh Vineyards Management VINEYARD COOLING STUDY Slide 2 STUDY PARTICIPANTS & SPONSORS Diageo / Beaulieu Vineyard Walsh Vineyards Management Pacific Geodata Edwards Engineering Jain Irrigation Nelson Irrigation Advanced Viticulture Fruitfly Wine Sciences Vinquiry Additional funding sponsors (Phases II/III) Close Pegase Cuvaison Price Family Vineyards Silverado Farming Company Sonoma County Water Agency VINEYARD COOLING STUDY Slide 3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Increase in mean temperatures / extreme heat events Seeking to protect fruit / vines from heat Minimize water use Little to no formal research on vineyard cooling VINEYARD COOLING STUDY Slide 4 EFFECTS OF EXTREME HEAT ON VINES & FRUIT Limited research on the subject, but a few common themes emerge: sunburn and dehydration harvest weights acids while pH photosynthesis anthocyanins VINEYARD COOLING STUDY Slide 5 POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF VINEYARD COOLING temperatures (air, leaf, fruit, and soil) relative humidity transpirational stress greater acid/pH balance direct solar radiation while diffuse solar radiation (which enhances photosynthesis) through the use of misting or fogging microsprayers Possible retention/balance of anthocyanins and other phenolics VINEYARD COOLING STUDY Slide 6 STUDY LOCATION BV2 vineyard in Rutherford Slide 7 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY SPRAYERS Tested numerous misters & microsprayers Criteria for successful sprayer: Pattern / size of spray relative to flow rate Susceptibility to plugging Chose a microsprayer from Jain Irrigation Converted from a drip emitter 1 GPH flow rate Self-flushing & pressure compensating Also looked at Nelson R5 pop-up sprayer ~16 spray radius Slide 8 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN Vineyard planted to CS in 1996 8 x 8 spacing, VSP 3 test plot configurations: Control (no cooling) 2 microsprayers per vine above canopy 1 Nelson R5 pop-up @ 16 x 16 2 nd drip hose supplied water to sprayers Sprayers connected to 2 nd drip hose using spaghetti line Microsprayer flow rate: 1,484 GPH/ac Pop-up flow rate: 1,531 GPH/ac Slide 9 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY TEST PLOT LAYOUT Slide 10 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY TEMPERATURE MONITORING Slide 11 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY WHEN TO RUN THE SYSTEM? 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 90919293949596979899100 Trigger temperature ( F) Number of events Maximum Minimum Median 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 90919293949596979899100 Trigger temperature ( F) Duration (hours) Maximum Median Slide 12 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY COOLING SYSTEM OPERATION Slide 13 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY COOLING SYSTEM OPERATION Nelson R5 Pop-UpJain Microsprayer Slide 14 VINEYARD COOLING STUDY COOLING RESULTS (2011) Slide 15 COOLING TREATMENTS REVIEW VINEYARD COOLING STUDY flowrate (gph)spacing (ft)# per acre flowrate per acre (gph) R5 pop-up916x 1701,531 Microsprayers1.094x81,3611,484 Slide 16 THANK YOU! VINEYARD COOLING STUDY PACIFIC GEODATA