A Spanish vineyard has gone more than 20 years without irrigation or pesticides; its cover-cropped topsoil now has over twice the organic matter of nearby tilled soil
- Representative Image (AI-generated)For more than two decades, the soil between rows of grapevines in a Spanish vineyard has remained covered with spontaneous vegetation instead of being repeatedly tilled.
- The unusual approach was associated with a striking difference beneath the vines: soil managed with long-term vegetation cover contained more than twice as much organic matter in its top layer as nearby soil that was conventionally tilled.
- The finding offers a glimpse into how leaving the ground undisturbed and maintaining plant cover could help improve soil health in dry, water-limited viney
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- Representative Image (AI-generated)For more than two decades, the soil between rows of grapevines in a Spanish vineyard has remained covered with spontaneous vegetation instead of being repeatedly tilled.
- The unusual approach was associated with a striking difference beneath the vines: soil managed with long-term vegetation cover contained more than twice as much organic matter in its top layer as nearby soil that was conventionally tilled.
- The finding offers a glimpse into how leaving the ground undisturbed and maintaining plant cover could help improve soil health in dry, water-limited viney
Sources: Times of India