The vines at Quinta dos Capinhas now have clean water from the property’s boreholes
In the Algarve, a new vineyard installed a desalination plant to combat the effects of salt water coming from the farm’s boreholes. The vineyard at Quinta dos Capinhas, in Lagoa, is the first in the region to take this measure, and it is hoped that others will follow suit.
Quinta dos Capinhas is a family-owned vineyard located in the stunning coastal region of Porches. It was created in 2016 by two neighbors with a common love of wine. Now the family business is led by João Capinha, with a small team of specialists.
For some years now, the farm faced a saltwater problem that has endangered the vines. To ensure the health of the plantation, Quinta dos Capinhas decided to invest in a desalination plant that would save the vineyard and also the future of its wines.
Desalination may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it has some real benefits to offer agriculture. It is the process of taking water from a salty source and transforming it into less salty water, which can be used in a variety of ways.
In the vineyard, less salty water can be used to irrigate crops, instead of borehole water, which is no longer as drinkable as it once was. This helps draw salt out of the soil and vines, making them much healthier and allowing them to produce better grapes and an even tastier wine.
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It also allows for more efficient use of resources, as less salt means less fertilizer needed over time – great news for the environment and the vineyard budget.
Additionally, vines grown with desalinated irrigation tend to require less use of fungicides as they are less prone to disease due to the less saline growing environment.
It all adds up to healthier plants, better wine, and a lot less stress for winemakers – so hopefully, desalination will become more common in vineyards soon.
Climate change is having a devastating impact on water availability in the Algarve. In recent years, rainfall levels have greatly decreased, and many rivers have dried up completely.
Water conservation measures are helping some people during this difficult time, but they are often dependent on groundwater sources, which can become contaminated with salty seawater.
With the effects of climate change becoming more and more severe year after year, governments need to take steps to ensure existing water sources are well monitored and efficiently managed to prevent further damage.
In addition, more efforts need to be made in introducing sustainable strategies such as desalination plants and implementing policies that encourage the reuse of precious water supplies wherever possible.
Together, these steps will help ensure that everyone in the Algarve has access to clean, safe drinking water despite ever-increasing climate challenges. It is critical to act now to mitigate future risks.
When it comes to implementing a vineyard irrigation project with desalinated water, there are some challenges that must be considered.
To begin with, it can be an expensive undertaking, as the equipment used to desalinate salt water is quite expensive and should be viewed as a long-term investment.
Also, while you want to keep some of the saltier water around for nutrients, you also need to find ways to get rid of most of that water so it doesn’t add too much salt to the soil and endanger the vines.
Once all that is taken care of and the ground is prepared, you can pump clean, fresh seawater into the irrigation pipelines.
Other factors such as ensuring a steady flow of water is maintained along with installing monitoring devices and meters should also be taken into consideration before starting such a project.
In short, while creating systems that rely on desalinated water comes with its own share of challenges, they offer some exciting new opportunities and long-term solutions worth investigating.
Joaquim Imaginario, the agronomist who advises Quinta dos Capinhas, has noticed the positive results of desalination in the vineyard. He stated that the health of the vine had improved significantly compared to a few months before the process was completed.
Desalination provided a favorable environment for beneficial nutrients and microbes to help existing plants grow and establish new ones. This increases the plants ability to resist disease and other environmental factors.
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The less salty soil structure also helps reduce evaporation and increase the vines’ moisture levels, resulting in vines with stronger roots, more nutrition for the leaves, and overall tastier grapes.
In addition to all this, it has been proven that desalinated water is much better for irrigating plants than tap water, as it limits losses caused by mineralization and reduces diseases associated with salinity.
While it may take some effort, there is no doubt that desalting a vineyard can bring tremendous success. It’s certainly been productive here in this case. What’s more – Quinta dos Capinhas believes its positivity will expand wildly into other vineyards soon.
Quinta dos Capinhas is a fascinating example of how desalination can be used to combat water scarcity in the face of climate change.
While there are challenges associated with implementing such a project, the results so far have been positive and provide hope for other regions facing similar problems.
