Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda
Mehdi Sharifi, Summerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Zahra Zolfaghari, Sustainable Agriculture Services Inc.
Vineyard cover crops deliver well‐documented ecosystem services, yet consistent establishment, especially of perennial grasses and legumes, remains a primary barrier to adoption. This new review in the journal Plants reframes “companion (nurse) cropping” not as a new crop class, but as a facilitative establishment strategy within the broader cover‐/service‐crop literature.
This review was prepared as part of Activity 4 of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) AgriScience Grape & Wine Cluster, funded in part by the Government of Canada and by the British Columbia Wine Grape Council.