Why do growers pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a professional soil report?
April 10, 2019 – PLACERVILLE, CA: The El Dorado Wine Grape Growers Association (EDWGGA) has announced the special guest speaker for the April 17, grape grower meeting held from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Placerville Veteran’s Hall located at 130 Placerville Dr., Placerville. There is no charge to attend.
The El Dorado Wine Grape Growers Association is pleased to announce Paul Anamosa, PhD, Senior Soil Scientist and Viticulturist at Vineyard Soil Technologies as the special guest speaker at the April 17, 2019 grape grower meeting. Dr. Anamosa will discuss why a soil analysis is so important prior to planting a vineyard and the necessary elements of a comprehensive soil analysis. According to Dr. Anamosa, a soil analysis is more than just filling a plastic bag with a shovel full of soil and then having a laboratory analyze it for nutrients.
Dr. Anamosa, will discuss the vast array of potential differences in soil characteristics and how a comprehensive soil analysis brings together an understanding of these characteristics into a complete vineyard design.
There is no charge for grape growers, members of grower or winery organizations or the media to attend. Space is limited. For more information contact edwgga@gmail.com or Karen at 707-853-3025.
Additional Information Provided by Dr. Anamosa:
“Soil chemistry, although important, is not the most important part of a soil analysis. Total Available Water (TAW) is the largest contributor to vine vigor and plant growth, understanding the soils texture, structure, rock content and rock type, is imperative to a complete soil analysis.
“Once the soil analysis is complete the soil scientist should then be able to divide the plantable land into blocks that reflect compartmentalization of similar soils into the same blocks and the separation of dissimilar soils into different blocks. Each block will have recommendations for tillage depth, tillage implement, pre- and post-tillage amendments, vine spacing, trellis type, row orientation, and rootstocks. This compartmentation allows the vines within a block to grow uniformly, provide uniform ripening, and hopefully uniform fruit quality. Harvesting a block of grapes across a spectrum or ripeness is recipe for mediocrity or worse.”
About Dr. Paul Anamosa:
He has Bachelor degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Pest Management; Master degrees in Soil Chemistry and Viticulture; and, a PhD in Soil Fertility Management. The first half of Dr. Anamosa’s career was spent in developing countries in the Caribbean and Africa working on improving the technology transfer of innovative farming practices to resource poor farmers. He returned to the United States in 1996 and received his MS in Viticulture in 1997. Since 1997, Dr. Anamosa has evaluated over 20,000 soil profiles throughout California and in Oregon, Washington, Argentina, and Canada.
