Integrating indigenous microorganisms and cover crops to improve grapevine nutrition in sustainable vineyards

TY - JOUR

T1 - Integrating indigenous microorganisms and cover crops to improve grapevine nutrition in sustainable vineyards

AU - Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl

AU - Liberal, Isabel M.

AU - Aguiar, Juan F.

AU - Cantos-Villar, Emma

AU - Puertas, Belén

AU - Homet, Pablo

AU - Revillini, Daniel

AU - Caballero de la Rosa, Rafael

AU - Sánchez-Rodríguez, Antonio Rafael

AU - Casimiro-Soriguer, Ramón

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Agronomy Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy.

PY - 2026/7/1

Y1 - 2026/7/1

N2 - Excessive use of agrochemicals and frequent tillage have degraded vineyard soils, threatening their sustainability and grape quality. Cover crops and microbial inoculants are increasingly promoted as nature-based strategies for vineyard regeneration, yet they are rarely evaluated together. We conducted a field experiment in southern Spain to test the effects of cover crops and 20 microbial inoculants based on indigenous microorganisms on grapevine leaf elemental composition (17 essential and non-essential elements) and leaf °Brix and pH. Cover crops reduced leaf sugar content (°Brix) and foliar N, Fe, and Mn before veraison, likely due to competition, but increased N, Ca, Cu, and Fe at harvest, suggesting improved late-season nutrition, while consistently reducing K. Over half of the microbial inoculants favorably altered leaf nutrient content, generally increasing essential nutrients (N, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn) and reducing non-nutrients (Ti and Br). Improved nutrition was partly explained by the enzymatic potential of the indigenous microbial communities present in the inoculants. Our results highlight the strong potential of complex, nature-based indigenous microbial inoculants to enhance grapevine nutrition, positioning them, together with cover crops, as a promising tool for sustainable viticulture.

AB - Excessive use of agrochemicals and frequent tillage have degraded vineyard soils, threatening their sustainability and grape quality. Cover crops and microbial inoculants are increasingly promoted as nature-based strategies for vineyard regeneration, yet they are rarely evaluated together. We conducted a field experiment in southern Spain to test the effects of cover crops and 20 microbial inoculants based on indigenous microorganisms on grapevine leaf elemental composition (17 essential and non-essential elements) and leaf °Brix and pH. Cover crops reduced leaf sugar content (°Brix) and foliar N, Fe, and Mn before veraison, likely due to competition, but increased N, Ca, Cu, and Fe at harvest, suggesting improved late-season nutrition, while consistently reducing K. Over half of the microbial inoculants favorably altered leaf nutrient content, generally increasing essential nutrients (N, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn) and reducing non-nutrients (Ti and Br). Improved nutrition was partly explained by the enzymatic potential of the indigenous microbial communities present in the inoculants. Our results highlight the strong potential of complex, nature-based indigenous microbial inoculants to enhance grapevine nutrition, positioning them, together with cover crops, as a promising tool for sustainable viticulture.

U2 - 10.1002/agj2.70486

DO - 10.1002/agj2.70486

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105044912933

SN - 0002-1962

VL - 118

JO - Agronomy Journal

JF - Agronomy Journal

IS - 4

M1 - e70486

ER -