StopiCal Treatment Increases Yield and Quality
Today world vineyard growers want to achieve a healthy grape harvest because they are paid for two main characteristics: the tonnage and the quality of grapes. Sour rot and botrytis can be big problems in many cultivars, which often leads to a different view between grower and oenologist: the first wants sugars and tonnage; the second requires good phenolic grape maturation though both are happy when the grapes are healthy.
Product and Applications
The product was StopiCal containing: 420 g/l CaO, 250 g/l P2O5
The times and amounts of sprays were:
StopiCal end of flowering 5 l/ha
StopiCal pre - berry touch 5 l/ha
StopiCal colour change 5 l/ha
This is a new technique of spraying, especially when YaraVita products are mixed with antibotrytic fungicidal treatments (see www.tankmix.com).
The objective of YaraVita treatments was to increase cuticle thickness, and by using StopiCal, containing phosphorus, it increases the number of cells. At the same time StopiCal, which also contains calcium, increases the intracellular "cement", due to the fact that calcium is the "bridge" between two molecules of galacturonic acid, the basic components in the cell wall.
Three sites were chosen for the "StopiCal" programme and the results were:
Conclusion
The treatments with StopiCal meant an increase in resistance to the attack from botrytis and sour rot. It is a mechanical resistance; not a biological one. The economic aspect is easy to calculate: StopiCal saves 10% more harvest which means about 1000 kg of grapes or 1000 bottles of wine, and also an increase in quality of the final product.
Author: Dr Stefano Zaninotti, Italy
Published: December 2006