Vineyard Soil Technologies

Vineyard Soil Technologies We are a California-based viticultural consulting company that provides advising services for every

Yellow garden spider hanging out in the grasslands of Carneros in Napa County waiting for its next meal.
12/12/2023

Yellow garden spider hanging out in the grasslands of Carneros in Napa County waiting for its next meal.

This is a clump of clay that came out of a soil pit where the soil was previously deep tilled when it was too moist. Th...
06/15/2023

This is a clump of clay that came out of a soil pit where the soil was previously deep tilled when it was too moist. The goal of deep tillage is to loosen the subsoil and decrease the bulk density by infusing air between aggregates. If the soil is too moist, the ripper shank compresses the soil and squeezes the air out and makes the soil more dense – the opposite of the intended objective. If you have a clay or clay loam subsoil, or don’t know the texture of your subsoil, have a qualified soil scientist determine if the soil is sufficiently dry to permit effective deep tillage.

This is an example of past soil erosion. Soil erosion gets started by raindrops impacting bare soil and breaking apart ...
06/13/2023

This is an example of past soil erosion. Soil erosion gets started by raindrops impacting bare soil and breaking apart aggregates in to smaller pieces or individual soil particles of sand, silt or clay. These smaller pieces then plug the normal drainage pores in the soil and slows infiltration. If the infiltration rate is slower than the rainfall rate, the water will collect on the surface and start to move laterally taking more soil with it. This photo shows how small gravel is protecting the soil beneath it and creating a small pedestal of soil. This process frequently results in a gravel pavement where the soil is eroded from the surface and leaves the gravel behind that collects on the surface. To avoid this keep the soil covered with vegetation during all periods during the rainy season.

This is an example of dumping subsoil (from a reservoir construction) on top of top-soil. The subsoil was clay, and in ...
06/09/2023

This is an example of dumping subsoil (from a reservoir construction) on top of top-soil. The subsoil was clay, and in the process of moving it and placing it here, it was puddled (structured destroyed and air squeezed out). Now, they have a heavy dense clay over a wonderful loam subsoil (previously a surface horizon). The clay limits water and air infiltration. This lack of air has caused the lower subsoil to turn olive brown indicating a gleyed color and lack of oxygen. Roots need oxygen, so the lack of air in the depths below 30” also keeps roots from growing into this zone.

Worms play a crucial role in helping establish and maintain good soil structure.Worms eat their way through the soil and...
03/07/2023

Worms play a crucial role in helping establish and maintain good soil structure.

Worms eat their way through the soil and leave behind channels of partially decomposed organic matter and vertical pores that allow for soil water drainage down and out of the profile.

Dr. Paul R. Anamosa will be teaching the class "Vineyard Soils, Fertilizers, and Irrigation" at Napa Valley College for ...
01/13/2023

Dr. Paul R. Anamosa will be teaching the class "Vineyard Soils, Fertilizers, and Irrigation" at Napa Valley College for the 2023 Spring Semester. The class is completely online. Students will review a weekly PowerPoint assignment. We will meet each Tuesday evening on Zoom to review questions and reinforce the more salient issues within that week's presentation. Then, the students will have 4 days to take a simple 10 point quiz. Registration is open now, and the first class is January 24.

Worms open their mouths and eat soil. Their gut takes the nutrients and foods that it wants and then encases the soil i...
01/11/2023

Worms open their mouths and eat soil. Their gut takes the nutrients and foods that it wants and then encases the soil in a mucous film. The worm then extrudes these castings out the rear. This is all part of building soil structure (particle aggregation) and is quite beneficial for the soil. Worm p**p . . . it’s not just for breakfast anymore!

This is crown gall growing out of the bottom of the rootstock (not in the graft union). Notice the white creamy color ...
12/16/2022

This is crown gall growing out of the bottom of the rootstock (not in the graft union). Notice the white creamy color and the irregular pebble-grain texture.

The second photo shows a gall on rootstock 420A that is known to have Crown Gall more commonly than most other rootstocks. However, we usually see the gall in the graft union, not on roots 12” below the surface.

Many vineyards use liquid dust suppressants on vineyard avenues to suppress dust.Most of the brand-named materials use m...
09/21/2022

Many vineyards use liquid dust suppressants on vineyard avenues to suppress dust.

Most of the brand-named materials use magnesium chloride as the main ingredient (30% MgCl2) along with 65% water. These dust suppression liquids bind the soil together to prevent the separation of small soil particles thereby having them become airborne (dust). However, the chloride in these materials can be toxic to winegrapes if they are deposited too close to vines and leach into the rootzone. The symptoms are asymmetrical necrotic (brown dead) leaf tissue among the vines closest to the application site. Notice that only the first row along this avenue is affected. The vines in the second row look fine. This can happen from improper placement (user error), or sheet erosion run-off from a heavy rain shortly after application. If the vines do not die from the first exposure, they will usually recover as weak vines the next season due to poor accumulation of carbohydrates, and then back to normal the third year.

Now is a great time to go into the vineyards and look for disease symptoms in leaves. At this time of the season, the l...
08/31/2022

Now is a great time to go into the vineyards and look for disease symptoms in leaves. At this time of the season, the leaf symptoms are frequently blatantly visually obvious.

Here are examples of Grapevine Fanleaf Virus and Leaf Roll Virus.

Photo: Paul Anamosa, Ph.D., (Fanleaf Virus, Napa County; Leaf Roll Virus, Sonoma County)

This is an example of how other animals use soil. It’s a barn swallow nest. Notice the little daubs of mud that the bi...
08/26/2022

This is an example of how other animals use soil. It’s a barn swallow nest. Notice the little daubs of mud that the birds carried to the nest and packed together to dry into a mud house.

Photo: Nick Madden, Ph.D., Napa County

This is an example of the soil derived from the Diatomaceous earth that is found in the Coombsville Napa region.The leaf...
08/24/2022

This is an example of the soil derived from the Diatomaceous earth that is found in the Coombsville Napa region.

The leaf fossil shown in the previous post was sandwiched between one of the laminated layers seen in the subsoil of this photo. This subsoil is soft and easily crushable between a finger and a thumb. Notice the remnant of a gopher hole that has since been filled in with top soil.

Photo: Paul Anamosa, Ph.D., Napa County.

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3379 Solano Avenue, Ste 505
Napa, CA
94558

Telephone

+17072553176

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