The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) – First Aproach for the Establishment of Norms for Vineyards in Portugal

The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) is an alternative tool for the evaluation of nutritional status and fertilizer recommendation of several crops. However, as this methodology implies the establishment of norms or standards, without which one cannot infer about the nutritional status of a crop, in Portugal this tool has little application. The aim of this study was to establish preliminary DRIS norms for vineyards in Portugal. From 2007 to 2009, petiole samples were collected on a set of 199 selected plots. The DRIS norms were established according to the proposed by Beaufils (1973), based on the results of the laboratory procedures. The results suggest the need for further studies in order to validate the DRIS norms presented. In the future it will be important to increase the number of observations for the establishment of DRIS norms, as well as to determine the relevance of establishing specific nutritional standard according the edaphic, climatic and varietal variability of Portuguese wine regions