A few weeks ago, at the end of May, the inhabitants of Ribera del Duero experienced the most severe hailstorm over vineyards in recent memory. It was unprecedented. It is estimated that the hail caused damage to two thousand hectares of vineyards covered by the DO (10% of the total vineyard). It was a storm that unloaded more than 40 litres of precipitation in just 15 minutes and devastated crops in around twenty municipalities, mostly in the provinces of Valladolid and Burgos.
The weather is, and will always be, that critical factor that gives us and takes away everything in the blink of an eye.
How does hail affect the vineyard?
A hailstorm uproots new vines, leaves and bunches, leaving significant damage to the vegetation and in many cases causing the loss of that year’s entire crop.
The first 24 hours after the hailstorm are crucial to determine the degree of damage done and to evaluate what actions and decisions should be taken. Depending on the severity of the hail and the extent of the damage, we will have to opt for different types of solutions.
If the hail has spared a few leaves and bunches, it is advisable, in less than 48 hours, to treat the plant with a natural and eco-friendly healing product and not to take any other special measures in those first hours. Avoid touching the plant any further. The vineyard should be left to repair itself using its natural processes and as soon as the soil is accessible, the necessary treatments should be carried out. It is advisable to carry out the usual vineyard treatments, but above all it is crucial to pay attention to the possible risk of diseases caused by humidity and to implement treatments against fungi such as powdery mildew, mildew or botrytis that could be grow and spread as a consequence of the humidity and temperature conditions.
If the intensity of the hail has not left any vegetation or bunches on the vine whatsoever, it is recommended to do a winter pruning to maintain the bud structure of the plant and to work on improving the harvest of the following year.
At Tres Piedras, in order to predict possible events and make decisions more accurately, we work with a network of weather stations situated throughout our vineyards in Ribera del Duero. Among other aspects, we control the relative humidity levels and environmental temperature to prevent potential fungal diseases such as oidium and mildew. For the sake of Tres Piedras’ organic cultivation, working with meteorological technology (from Sencrop) is very important as it allows us to carry out the necessary tasks at the right moment without having to use aggressive chemical agents. Moreover, we share all of the data provided by this network with other users (farmers) so that they can benefit from this information on a regional scale, not only on the scale of the vineyard plot of each individual winegrower. This is what we discussed a few days ago on Surcos, a local television programme in Castilla y León (watch the report from minute 12 onwards by clicking here).
