Project start: 01.04.2024
Project end: 31.03.2027
Sponsor: Forschungsring des Deutschen Weinbaus

The main objective of the project is to understand the positive role of AMF in improving the fitness of Riesling and Pinot Blanc vines under drought conditions. Initially, a pot trial will be conducted to test the efficiency and positive effect of three AMF bioproducts on three vines under low-water conditions and using two different soils from two vineyards in the Rheingau (WP1). Parallel to WP1, the Institute for Grapevine Breeding at Hochschule Geisenheim University will graft the three rootstocks used in WP1 with the Riesling and Pinot Blanc scions (WP2). This will allow us to select from the pool of grafted plants those with the best performing and AMF-compatible rootstocks to be used in the subsequent field (WP3) and greenhouse (WP4) trials. The field trial will be conducted in two different vineyards in the Rheingau, which are characterized by different soil types and topography. WP3 will give us the opportunity to test under real field conditions the compatibility and effectiveness of AMF on Riesling and Pinot Blanc grafted plants in two different vineyard ecosystems. The additional greenhouse experiment (WP4) will be conducted in rhizoboxes to evaluate in detail the AMF compatibility and the positive effect of the AMF inoculum and the type of grafted plants not only on plant fitness and development, but also on various soil/plant properties, such as soil microbiome structure, root exudates, root architecture and edaphic properties.

Project start: 01.05.2023
Project end: 31.12.2023
Sponsor: uratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V.

The aim of the project is to organise an industry discussion on dual land use for grapevines. To this end, the working group will prepare an overview article in specialist journals in advance. The ATW-HGU industry discussion on the topic of agri-photovoltaics (APV) will take centre stage, offering an open discussion platform on this topic. To this end, it is desirable to use the contacts of the DLG and to provide organisational support for the industry discussion via the KTBL so that the topic can also be transferred to other special crops. The topic of autonomous, electrified cultivation and innovations in this area, especially in combination with Agri-PV power generation, will be addressed in a practical manner in the form of a machine demonstration.

Project start: 01.05.2023
Project end: 30.04.2029
Sponsor: Federal Office for Agriculture and Food

In the HUMAX project, different measures for humus build-up are to be investigated in different combinations. The aim is to identify possible synergies of the measures and to show combined application options. The innovative potential of the HUMAX project lies in the fact that established humus building measures (catch crops, winter greening, undersowing, compost application, etc.) are to be combined and tested with promising measures such as plant charcoal. A unique feature of the HUMAX project is that these measures will be applied in combination with agri-photovoltaic systems and agroforestry systems. The combination with agroforestry systems opens up further potential as a carbon sink, in addition to the humus build-up, as the trees and shrubs store carbon in the above- and below-ground biomass and also bring with them a large substitution potential through the wood products and the material accumulating during the management of the woody plants. This should be precisely quantified in order to be able to make statements not only about the total carbon storage in the soil and the biomass, but also to quantify the substitution effects and biomass potentials for the production of plant carbon through pyrolysis. By combining the various humus-building measures, ways are to be found to maximise humus build-up and thus carbon sequestration, i.e. the function of the soil as a C sink. Based on this, a modular system will be developed that allows farmers to put together the best possible combination of measures for targeted carbon and humus management on their farms.

Project start: 01.01.2023
Project end: 31.12.2025
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The aim of the project is to develop and test for the first time an aesthetically pleasing, mobile, PV system for use in vineyards (Viti PV system), which can be set up and dismantled with little effort and which can be used by winegrowers wherever the need for protection and shading is particularly high, as well as in the future for regenerative energy in viticulture itself (digitalization). The design should be transferable to other row crops (fruit growing), which is guaranteed by the expertise of the partner HGU. In this way, the goals of the energy transition and viticulture, namely adaptation to climate change, digitization and reduced pesticide use and increased sustainability, are to be achieved at the same time by identifying and harnessing synergies beyond dual land use. Based on extensive experience in the planning of plants and movable structures for the use of solar energy, a tailor-made system for use in viticulture will be planned, manufactured and tested. The suitability for viticulture and the acceptance by winegrowers and the population in different regions of Germany will be investigated. The exploitation of the results is scientific (viticulture, acceptance, energy yield) and also commercial: The commercial exploitation by the SME is to take place through licensing of the developed system or manufacturing by a partner company and, if marketed, by the SME.

Project start: 01.06.2021
Project end: 31.05.2024
Sponsor: German Federal Environmental Foundation

The vineyard as an ecosystem and the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) are excellent models for making the consequences of climate change directly visible in various ways, both in biology classes and considering Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). While climate change makes viticulture economically feasible today in regions where it was considered a curiosity decades ago and is thus perceived as a positive driver of this development, the consequences for viticulture in other regions are to be assessed as negative. In addition to higher temperatures, heavy rain or increasing CO2 concentrations, new pests pose a problem that must be countered. Influences of climate change on the level of the ecosystem and on the level of the grapevine as a model plant can be discussed not only in the cultivation regions of the Rhine-Main area, where viticulture is of high relevance to everyday life. References to biological and agricultural topics are diverse and affect not only ecological and biological aspects but also social and economic components. Modeling and computer simulations of possible changes in the vineyard ecosystem as a consequence of climate change can show appropriate solution options and encourage digital learning. Along with real encounters in the vineyard as a site for out-of-school teaching and learning activities, current research results can also be taken into account. In this way, environmental, sociological and environmental educational research is also complied, which has long called for concrete everyday ecological situations to be examined to contribute to the development of sustainability awareness. The aim is to enable learners to deal critically and reflectively with climate change and its diverse consequences, to make appropriate decisions to act in the interests of sustainable development.

Project start: 01.01.2021
Project end: 31.12.2021
Sponsor: German Academic Exchange Service

Wine is essential good in Caucasian countries, both economically and culturally. In recent years, the importance of the wine industry has risen sharply, primarily since a large part of wine production is exported. In this context, the attractive markets in European and non-European countries have become important export destinations in recent years. The high intensity of competition in these markets requires the secure application of economic principles. Due to the high prices of Caucasian wines, specialized trade, in particular, plays a prominent role as a distribution channel in export. For this reason, the focus of the summer school was expanded to include the topic of "specialized wine trade." Wine tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the wine sales in the Caucasus - referring to the promotion policy of the governments as well as the activities of the GIZ (Gesellschaft für die Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in the Caucasus. Following the importance, ' wine tourism' was taken up both as lectures and excursions.

Project start: 01.11.2020
Project end: 31.10.2023
Sponsor: German Research Foundation

Project start: 01.07.2020
Project end: 30.06.2025
Sponsor: Hessisches Ministerium für Landwirtschaft und Umwelt, Weinbau, Forsten, Jagd und Heimat

The aim of the VitiVoltaic4Future project is to conduct research for viticulture in a newly created real laboratory for the use of agrophotovoltaics (APV). The infrastructure is to serve as an innovation platform beyond the project period; it is to enable research, development and knowledge transfer, as well as to encourage social participation in shaping the energy transition using practical examples. An overarching goal is to make land use more sustainable for special crops (here using viticulture as an example), to open up new ways of adapting the cultivation of special crops to climate change, and at the same time to develop renewable, decentralized power generation plus agricultural production in the field to application maturity iteratively with the stakeholders concerned as part of the energy transition. The concrete goal of VitiVoltaic4Future is to quantify the effects and possibilities of viticulture under Germany's first agro-PV system, to provide data for knowledge transfer, and to scientifically accompany adaptation strategy possibilities that could arise from such solar islands through viticultural research and know-how building. Within the project, measures for biodiversity promotion in viticulture (--> project "AMBITO) will be integrated. In particular, we aim to link "solar islands" with biodiversity islands in viticultural cultural landscapes, in order to holistically promote the sustainability of viticulture.

Project start: 28.02.2020
Project end: 27.02.2025
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Project start: 01.01.2020
Project end: 31.12.2020
Sponsor: German Academic Exchange Service

The academic program, comprising 25 well-balanced sessions with varying topics, has been put together by Geisenheim University. The first digital pan caucasian summer schoo "West Meets east" addressed several species, such as world wine markets, strategy, wine marketing, viticulture, and wine-growing in Germany, Armenia, and Georgia. The representatives of the leading wine institutions and industry experts from Germany, Georgia, and Armenia provided profound insights into the current developments in wine export, import, and consumption in these three countries. Furthermore, the uniqueness of Qvevri vinification was an integral session of the digital event.

Project start: 01.01.2018
Project end: 31.12.2025

Project start: 01.02.2015
Project end: 31.01.2020
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Growing resistant cultivars with the novel cultivation method of the minimal pruning of trellis trained grapevines (SMPH) enables to combine (1) environmental friendly and (2) economically beneficial as well as (3) climate change adapted grapevine production. To analyze new resistant grapevine cultivars in such an advanced production system, we evaluate the behavior of plants, crop, biodiversity, and resulting wines in comparison to the most common vertical shoot positioning system (VSP). We intend to unravel the cause of ripening delay upon viticultural treatments, and to develop the technological basis for a broad introduction of the new cultivation system into viticultural practice. Our comprehensive investigation will empirically and functionally address field studies where new cultivars are raised in a new cultivation concept.

Project start: 01.01.2013
Project end: 31.12.2016
Sponsor: European Commission

InnoVine is a European collaborative project funded through the Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) program, launched in January 2013.  During 4 years, it will involve 27 different partners from 7 European countries (Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain).