Water Wheel Jan/Feb 2026: Irrigation Water

Abstract

Raising a glass to innovation: The science behind water-wise vineyards In South Africa, 19 488 ha of agricultural land is planted with table grapes and 87 848 ha with wine grapes. All commercially produced table grapes and 87% of wine grapes receive irrigation water (SAWIS, 2023; Ferreira and Burger, 2024). Between 641 and 1 325 litres of water are needed to produce one kilogram of wine grapes, depending on the cultivar and the cultivation region (Jarmain et al., 2020). This is comparable to global figures for other fruit crops, such as apples and citrus (Van der Laan, 2017). Concerns about water security due to climate change drive worldwide efforts to breed new drought-resistant grape cultivars and rootstocks. However, this is a long-term solution because new cultivars can take many years before they are commercially available and successfully introduced to consumers. There is thus a present need to know more about the cultivars and rootstocks currently grown in the vineyards of South Africa in the context of climate (water) smart production.

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