Russell Moss,* Tyler Sears, and Mattia Saletti
*Vintrepid Consulting, LLC, 210 W. State St. #4, Ithaca, NY, 14850 (russell@consultingviticulturist.com)

Vignerons are increasingly adopting the use of exogenous microbial inoculum to improve soil microbial communities and, ultimately, plant performance. With the high costs of these inoculums and their varied success in the field, a proprietary protein­aceous bio-fertilizer was tested on Vitis vinifera vines over a three-year period. The long-term longitudinal study was conducted with over 40 participants, 12 different cultivars, and four US States. A proteinaceous bio-fertilizer was applied to the soil at each site at budbreak and flowering. Rate of shoot length and diametric growth increased with the application of the biostimulant on all sites in all years of the study. Across all years and sites, chlorophyll content increased with the use of the biostim­ulant, according to readings from a soil plant analysis development meter (SPAD). In­creases in both berry weight and berry volume with the application of the treatment resulted in greater yields. Juice chemistry at harvest was unaffected by the bio-fertil­izer. Proteinaceous bio-fertilizer may improve soil microbial communities, ultimately resulting in better agronomic vine performance.

Funding Support: Enartis USA, Inc