APPLICATION OF A SOLAR PROTECTOR FOR THE VINEYARD AS A MEASURE OF ADAPTATION TO Climate change

In 2018 we carried out the first trial on a plot of the Marselán variety located in Enguera, in which kaolin was used. Kaolin a whitish clay that, diluted in water, created a layer that reflected solar radiation and allowed the temperature on the surface of the vineyard’s soil to be reduced. This way, it was possible to improve the physiological state of the vineyard and obtain higher quality grapes. The results of this trial were published in the TFM (Master’s Thesis) of the Master’s Degree in Oenology at the UPV carried out by Juan Martínez Barberá. This work was presented at the Valencian Congress of Organic Agriculture that was held in Gandía (Valencia) in October 2019.

In 2020, this test was repeated considering the improvement points of the previous work on a Monastrell vineyard located in Fontanars dels Alforins (Valencia), where the conditions of extreme drought, high temperatures and lack of irrigation could accentuate the effect of kaolin. This essay made for the TFG (End-of-Degree Project) of the Degree in Agro-Food and Rural Environment Engineering of Aroa Zamora Sahuquillo, directed by Inmaculada Álvarez Cano (UPV) and Juan Martínez Barberá (Bodegas Enguera).