ABSTRACT
Due to new technical issues and adverse economic facts, Italian wine growers are paying more attention to weed control and soil management systems shifting from several tillage a year to less mechanical treatments, larger use of herbicides, grass-mulch or zero-tillage.
Trials carried out for several years have been followed to control the effetcs of different soil techniques on several parameters (yield, sugar, acidity, vigor).
An integrated system allowing spontaneous and selected weeds growing from harvest time to May followed by chemical weed control in Summer, may avoid weed competition and its negative effect on water and nutrition with less herbicides use, and without the negative impact on the soil structure caused by several mechanical treatments.
