Thursday, April 23rd at 4pm 
2045 Bainer Hall 

Precision irrigation of grapevines 
Dr. Jean-Jacques Lambert 
Specialist in Soil Science 
Department of Viticulture & Enology, UCD 

Summary: 
Reduced deficit irrigation (RDI) is practiced in a number of vineyards producing fruit for premium wines, in order to control yields and enhance quality. Vines are robust plants that can still produce quality fruit with reduced soil water availability. However, many vineyards still use more water than needed in order to increase yields, especially in vineyards for production of moderately priced wines. The current California drought is forcing a re-evaluation of current crop irrigation practices. A review of current winegrape irrigation principles and practices will be presented. An ongoing Oakville station project (Napa Valley) will be discussed. 

Short Bio: 
He earned his PhD in Soil Science at UC Davis and is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSSc) of the Soil Science Society of America. He has worked on soil analysis and mapping projects in California, Spain and France; while in France he worked for three years at the National Agronomy Institute (INRA) in Orleans. He specializes in soil-vine relationships, vine nutrition, rootstock choices and vineyard variability management, especially with respect to irrigation.

Coffee and cookies will be served.