Agriculture Blog

Evaluating a potential vineyard site at Mountain Grove

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The Environmental Soils class visited the State Fruit Experiment Station at Mountain Grove last evening in order to evaluate a potential vineyard site. Three soil pits were previously dug by Jeremy Emery, a field supervisor at the station. Tom DeWitt, a soils instructor at Missouri State, and Adam Coulter of the NRCS evaluated the soil situation with the class. The students will formulate recommendations concerning vineyard layout and soil modifications for the future planting.

Each of the three soil pits in different areas of the planting site were evaluated.
Each of the three soil pits in different areas of the planting site were evaluated.
The depth of the different soil layers is measured.
The depth of the different soil layers is measured.
Samples of each layer are collected and put into muffin tins for later analysis.
Samples of each layer are collected and put into muffin tins for later analysis.
Tom DeWitt discusses a student's description.
Tom DeWitt fine tunes a description.
A color chart is used to help define the fragipan layer.
A color chart is used to help define the fragipan layer.
The GPS location of each soil pit is recorded for future reference.
The GPS location of the soil pit is looked up by Adam Coulter and recorded by a student for future reference.