Chile sprayed 55% less. They waited for real risk
Trials at seven Chilean wineries cut powdery-mildew sprays by 55% versus a calendar. They used weather, a risk index and leaf checks on 87 hectares. It is a trial, not a new rule for the whole country.
Most vineyards spray on a calendar. Monday, then Monday again. The fungus that likes grape leaves is called powdery mildew, or oídio in Chile. Growers spray so it never gets a start.
A research group tried something simpler. Spray when the risk is actually high. Skip the weeks when it is not.
The Climate Change Program at Consorcio I+D Vinos de Chile ran the test. Fourteen vineyard blocks. Seven wineries. Eighty-seven hectares. They used local weather, a risk index called Gubler–Thomas, and people walking the rows to look at leaves.
Result: 55% fewer sprays than the usual calendar. The disease stayed under control.
Patricio Parra, who runs the consortium, said the point is to match the spray to the block, not to a printed schedule.
This is a trial. It is not a new rule for the whole country. Variety, canopy and the block’s history all change the number. The group already runs 52 weather stations at 25 wineries, from Coquimbo in the north to Los Lagos in the south, on a platform called Datavid. Free workshops come in September.
Mini-concept: a calendar spray is a guess. A risk spray is a decision.
A flavoured can does not get oídio. These leaves either got a spray or they did not.
Remember: 55% fewer sprays in the trial — not a country-wide formula.
Source: Vinetur