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WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT March 2015 WINES&VINES 35 RIVERCAP USA 5301 Industrial Way, Benicia, CA 94510, USA www.rivercap.com PRODUCED BY RIVERCAP USA For a smaller vineyard of about 20 acres with uniform soils, Beck said a couple of sim- ple tensiometers at both ends of the root zone could be sufficient. He noted that tensiometers re- quire frequent maintenance, but that may not be an issue for the manager of a smaller vineyard. A larger vineyard—or one with very different soils and topogra- phy—would need a more elabo- rate sensor setup to cover those variations. "In a highly variable larger hillside vineyard with sev- eral irrigation blocks, it would be advisable to install logging sensors in each irrigation set," Beck said. He also noted that using NDVI mapping through aerial or satel- lite imaging is an excellent tool for determining where to put sen- sors and how many a vineyard needs based on vigor patterns. Reducing water use This past January, growers in Men- docino County (which is located in California's North Coast region) were able to sign up for free mois- ture sensors through the California Land Stewardship Institute. The institute's executive direc- tor, Laurel Marcus, said funding for the sensors represented a por- tion of a $1.9 million grant the Department of Water Resources provided for drought relief. Most of the funding is going toward a recycled water project. Marcus said drip irrigation is the most efficient way to deliver water, and data from the sensors shows exactly how long and how often to irrigate as well as when in the growing season is the best time to start. "Really that's the only way you can save more water," Marcus said. The grant funding will enable the institute to install 100 systems using Watermark sensors in the Navarro and Russian River water- sheds. A similar grant program in the Sierra Nevada foothills re- sulted in growers reducing their water use between 10% and 20%. "Another major part of that is they need to keep irrigation records and make sure their irrigation sys- tems are applying as much water as they think they are," she said. Sensor recommendations Stan Grant is the founder of Pro- gressive Viticulture, based in Tur- lock, Calif., and works with dozens of vineyard clients in the northern San Joaquin Valley, Si- erra Foothills and Contra Costa County. (Read his article, "Con- sidering Mineral Nutrient Inter- actions," on page 46.) He said many of his clients use tensiom- eters or the Watermark sensors because they're affordable and have been on the market for decades. For a grower looking to install some of the newer sensors, Grant also recommended at least two The bottom of the root zone is located about 4 feet below the vineyard soil's surface.