Biological Solution Improves Vine Vigour at New Hall Wine Estate

Established by Bill and Sheila Greenwood, and now owned by the Trembath family, New Hall vineyard was an early British vineyard in the Crouch Valley, which saw the first vines planted in 1969. With some vines more than 40 years old Mr Hares has looked to biostimulants to improve plant health, vigour and longevity while reducing his costs and reliance on chemicals.

“We have been introducing biostimulants steadily for three years and the results have been encouraging. It is considered the norm to use chemicals to solve issues like powdery mildew and botrytis, but we have found that using biological alternatives that help strengthen the vines are more effective, sustainable and efficient,” he says. 

Working with agronomist Mike Stoker from biostimulant specialist Orion FT he has developed a comprehensive program using multiple biostimulants to strengthen the vines and improve productivity.

“Tackling pests and disease in a reactive way was not sustainable for the vines or the business, so we have chosen to invest in making the vines more resilient, stronger and more productive,” he says. 

Three years in and he has developed a mix which is 70 percent biostimulants with 30 percent fungicides. The program was developed with a block of Bacchus vines as a trial following a noticeable decline in yields over multiple years. 

“We tried different pruning styles, but it was evident that we needed to change our approach. We were using Cosine, sulphur, Vivando and Sercadis at the same rate as other parts of the vineyard, but vine health wasn’t improving,” he says. 

The block of vines was also receiving additional nutrients including urea and SM6, a seaweed-based micronutrient, along with other broad based feed products. 

“Mike and I looked at a new program that removed the use of fungicides and instead used biostimulants. We introduced Glaia which improves photosynthesis and Kohab, a concentrated, chelated form of potassium carbonate,” he says. 

The choice to take away fungicides in the first year was a step too far and in year two he reintroduced the use of fungicides, but in a much smaller dose and frequency. 

“Year one was too much of a plunge and in year two we reintroduced the fungicides alongside the biostimulants. This was more encouraging and in year three we found the balance of 70 percent biostimulants to 30 fungicides is currently working” he says. 

The biostimulant mix now includes two silicon biostimulants, Sirius and Rigel, along with Trident Plus, a micronutrient which is high in copper and cobalt. This is used with Glaia to make up the 70 percent biostimulant portion of the mix. The silicon products help to strengthen the cells walls of the vines and make them less susceptible to damage.

“Like any farmer I have to take risks and also cost out the benefits and potential threats of using different methods. Using more biostimulants is saving the vineyard money and after three years of testing it is proving an effective way to manage the vines,” he says. 

The vineyard grows 18 varieties of grape and started with Germanic varieties before planting Bacchus vines.

“In 1974 the UK climate was comparable to that of Germany, but conditions have changed and now we can grow Pinot Noir and Piwi,” he says. 

He suggests that having different varieties as the vineyard has grown makes harvesting easier because the grapes ripen at different rates. 

“Climate extremes in recent years have presented a significant challenge. We grow Huxelrebe, a white variety, that grows tightly packed grapes with thin skins that are prone to splitting in hot conditions. Wasps love this and have been a big problem, but we have found that using Rigel has deterred them,” he says. 

With vines over 40 years in age he also has considered when replacements will be needed but following the results of using biostimulants he believes he can breathe new life into the older vines. 

“Replacing vines is time consuming and expensive, so every productive year is important to whole vineyard profitability. We hope to roll out the use of biostimulants to some of the older vines in the years to come because the results so far suggest that these vines would benefit more than the younger ones we used in the trial,” he says. 

With 125 acres of vines in total the 10-acre trial has given him the confidence to roll out the program to more varieties across the vineyard.

“The science makes sense, but we need to work slowly and methodically to ensure that any changes we make are well suited to each variety. We also have further threats including spotted wing drosophila (SWD). As yet we haven’t seen if biostimulants will be effective, but we intend to try and so far, everything suggests it will be a better solution than simply using broad spectrum insecticides,” he concludes. 

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