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Review

Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda

1
Summerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, Canada
2
Sustainable Agriculture Services Inc., Peterborough, ON K9H 2P6, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(19), 3056; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193056
Submission received: 13 September 2025 / Revised: 24 September 2025 / Accepted: 30 September 2025 / Published: 2 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Crop Physiology and Crop Production)

Abstract

Vineyard cover crops deliver well-documented ecosystem services, yet consistent establishment, especially of perennial grasses and legumes, remains a primary barrier to adoption. This review reframes “companion (nurse) cropping” not as a new crop class but as a acilitative establishment strategy within the broader cover-/service-crop literature. We (i) position our contribution relative to recent syntheses, (ii) synthesize evidence on companion crops practices that reduce cover cropping early failure risk, and (iii) propose a testable research agenda. A focused scoping review of peer-reviewed and extension literature indexed in Web of Science and Google Scholar was conducted using search terms encompassing cover/service crops and nurse/companion/facilitation in viticulture systems. Across climates, fast-establishing cereals (Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Secale cereale, × Triticosecale Wittmack) and short-cycle legumes (Vicia sativa, Pisum sativum, Trifolium incarnatum) can reliably “nurse” slower perennials and legumes by providing early groundcover, weeds control, and microclimate buffering when sown at reduced rates (≈25–50% of monoculture) and terminated on time to limit vine competition. Evidence gaps persist for in-row applications, water-use penalties under drought, and long-term effects on yield and grape composition. Companion cropping is argued to be a design principle in vineyard cover-crop programs rather than a separate category. A decision framework and research agenda are presented to quantify establishment reliability, resource trade-offs, and wine-relevant outcomes, and it is recommended that future decision tools make the companion-phase logic explicit to de-risk adoption and align with regional guidelines.
Keywords: cereal–legume mixtures; ecosystem services; establishment success; grapevine competition; microclimate moderation; resource competition; vegetation regulation cereal–legume mixtures; ecosystem services; establishment success; grapevine competition; microclimate moderation; resource competition; vegetation regulation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sharifi, M.; Zolfaghari, Z. Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Plants 2025, 14, 3056. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193056

AMA Style

Sharifi M, Zolfaghari Z. Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Plants. 2025; 14(19):3056. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193056

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sharifi, Mehdi, and Zahra Zolfaghari. 2025. "Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda" Plants 14, no. 19: 3056. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193056

APA Style

Sharifi, M., & Zolfaghari, Z. (2025). Companion Crops as Catalysts for Sustainable Cover Cropping in Vineyards—A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Plants, 14(19), 3056. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193056

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