For the Veneto vineyard, the 2023 vintage was characterized - at least up to now - by an initially dry climatic trend in the winter period, which translated into a water shortage at the time of vegetative recovery and by the frequent rainy events in the month of May. At the beginning of summer, the Veneto vineyard is overall healthy: after having suffered from the low temperatures in April, which caused a phenological delay, and the frequent rainfall in May, it is now dealing with a rise in temperatures and high relative humidity. The risk of infections, in particular of downy mildew , in the midst of the explosion of the vegetative phase, must be kept under control and the matter becomes even more delicate when referring to organically managed vineyards. From a productive point of view , on the other hand, the plants are currently very luxuriant from a vegetative point of view and there are the premises for a good productive year .
In summary, this is the photograph that emerged this morning on the occasion of the first focus, held online on the Zoom platform, of the now historic Veneto Wine Triptych (we remind you that the next two meetings will be held in August and December), an Region , Veneto Agriculture, ARPAV, CREA Viticulture and Enology and UVIVE.
"After a 2022 in which flavescence dorée manifested itself in an extremely heavy way especially in certain areas, - comments Councilor Federico Caner - 2023 began with some signs of hope. This above all for the collective commitment made by all the players in the regional wine sector who have teamed up and support winegrowers to convince them to implement, promptly and without half measures, the systematic uprooting of plants bearing disease symptoms.
The intense and enormous territorial reclamation work underway is also supported by the findings of the first seasonal data obtained from the Scaphoid monitoring network , which highlighted a decreasing trend of catches throughout the region.
This aspect, to be confirmed later in the season, is very positive and will perhaps make it possible to limit the insecticide treatments to be carried out throughout the territory and without resorting to even more invasive control measures.
However, with the arrival of the heat, the plants infected in 2022 and not already evident before will manifest themselves more clearly, and therefore we must not let our guard down . Therefore it is necessary to continue with the assiduous and meticulous work of grubbing up and to carry out completely and correctly the insecticide treatments communicated by the Phytosanitary Unit through the vine defense bulletins to limit as much as possible the new contaminations from infected to healthy plants”.
During the meeting, Francesco Rech of ARPAV , recalled that 2022 was the hottest and least rainy year in the last thirty years and that we are going through a long period of persistently low rainfall. Analyzing the weather trend in the first half of 2023 in relation to the cultivation of vines, he highlighted that only in January and in the month of May there was a level of rainfall above the norm, but considering that in February and March it practically never it rained, this year more than 130 mm of water was missing in the Veneto region. Of course, always less than the 300/400 mm that were missing last year, but still 18% less than the thirty-year average. Furthermore, he underlined that the situation is differentiated on the territory and that the deficit is currently greater especially in the hilly and foothill areas of the Pre-Alps, where it is greater than 300 mm.
At present, highlighted Patrick Marcuzzo of CREA Viticulture and Enology, the phytosanitary situation in the vineyard is worrying but not alarming : the frequent rains in May have in fact created the ideal conditions for the development of fungal diseases of the vine, in particular downy mildew , which required continuous monitoring and appropriate treatments. From a quantitative point of view , the plants are currently very luxuriant from a vegetative point of view and with a large quantity of buds: considering that, from the monitoring network, a high fertility of the buds and a high fruit set percentage were detected, there are the ideal conditions to hope for a good productive year .
The beginning of the harvest , at the moment, should take place with times in line with the historical averages according to the different varieties, foreseeably in the last week of August , unless the summer climatic trend upsets current expectations.
As mentioned, a strong concern is given by the diffusion of flavescence dorée which winegrowers must keep well monitored and against which the Veneto Region has equipped itself by activating the structures responsible for controls as well as setting up a technical-scientific table to identify the most effective actions contrast to its spread. Sergio Carraro, of the Phytosanitary Unit, presented the latest regulatory updates to the winegrowers on the subject of the fight against flavescence dorée, with the news linked to a strengthening of the mandatory fight measures aimed in particular at abandoned vineyards or ex-wild vineyards.
The measures put in place, including continuous information to winegrowers on the actions to be implemented through information bulletins and phytosanitary contact details, are giving the desired positive results: the data presented, in fact, with the first findings in the field in 2023, highlight the trend to a lower presence of yellows among the vineyards and a population of Scaphoideus titanus , the insect vector of the virosis, on average lower. A trend also confirmed by Giuseppe Rama , of the Cantina Sociale di Soave and by Silvia Liggieri , of the Prosecco DOC Consortium, who intervened bringing the testimony of two of the main production areas suited in Veneto.
A vintage that will therefore require great attention from the field technicians, who in any case in the past have already shown that they know how to deal with much more difficult situations with high professionalism.
Before moving on to a brief analysis of the current situation in the main regional wine-growing areas , we remind you that the slides presented today are progressively available at the following internet address:
https://www.venetoagricoltura.org/evento/primo-incontro-del-trittico-vitivinicolo-2023/
