All you need to know about great wine
Protecting Mendoza Vineyards from Hail
In a recent trip to Mendoza, ARGENTINA, I was surprised to find out that hail is a major challenge for vintners in this semi-desert wine region. Despite being shaded and sheltered by the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains and being a semi dessert, hail is the main threat to grapes during growing season.
For a region that produces 70 percent of all Argentine wine and can loose 10 percent of its annual cultivation each year do to hailstorms, hail protection programs are a necessity. Over the past 30 years, there have been a number of techniques used to combat this issue in the vineyards of the province of Mendoza. Cloud Seeding and netting are the two main techniques that have been used to control crop loss by hail in Mendoza’s vineyards.
Cloud seeding, which was introduced 30 years ago, is the process of injecting silver iodide particles into clouds to alter precipitation. By dropping silver iodide particles into a cloud, the majority of the moisture within the cloud condenses to water droplets and any remaining ice that becomes solid is significantly reduced in size. From 1978 to 1993, firework-sized rockets were launched into the clouds to distribute the chemicals. In 1998, this technique was replaced by the introduction of silver-iodide flares, which are shot from aircraft as they pass through the clouds.
Hail protective nets, both metallic nets, which look a lot like window screens, and plastic nets are another technique used by viticulturalists to combat hail. Many wineries are now using hail nets more often as they cost less and have less environmental impact than cloud seeding. That said, hail nets are not cheap; they are a sizable investment for wineries and they do have to be replaced.
For a region that produces 70 percent of all Argentine wine and can loose 10 percent of its annual cultivation each year do to hailstorms, hail protection programs are a necessity. Over the past 30 years, there have been a number of techniques used to combat this issue in the vineyards of the province of Mendoza. Cloud Seeding and netting are the two main techniques that have been used to control crop loss by hail in Mendoza’s vineyards.
Cloud seeding, which was introduced 30 years ago, is the process of injecting silver iodide particles into clouds to alter precipitation. By dropping silver iodide particles into a cloud, the majority of the moisture within the cloud condenses to water droplets and any remaining ice that becomes solid is significantly reduced in size. From 1978 to 1993, firework-sized rockets were launched into the clouds to distribute the chemicals. In 1998, this technique was replaced by the introduction of silver-iodide flares, which are shot from aircraft as they pass through the clouds.
Hail protective nets, both metallic nets, which look a lot like window screens, and plastic nets are another technique used by viticulturalists to combat hail. Many wineries are now using hail nets more often as they cost less and have less environmental impact than cloud seeding. That said, hail nets are not cheap; they are a sizable investment for wineries and they do have to be replaced.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Hall on -
Have they done any impact studies on the effects of the silver iodide on the soil, vines and animals in the area? Was that the major impetus for the change away from cloud seeding?
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Permalink Reply by Megan Henderson on -
Yes, testing has been done by scientist over the years on the environmental impact of cloud seeding. Actually, one of the main reasons for the initial move from lead to silver was because of environmentalist questioned the consequences that lead fall out had on the soil, vines and animals . Silver was selected because it is safer for the environment than lead. That said, scientist employed by silver iodide flare companies, have continued to do testing on the effects that cloud seeding with silver iodide has on the environment. In their reports they have noted that there are minimal effects on the soil. However, many are still wary of this and so many wineries have chosen to pursue the hail protection nets instead.
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