Preparation 501 on grapevine
Horn silica (501) preparation makes vines more adaptable to environmental conditions – due to an increase in phenolic metabolites.
Conventional viticulture relies on the intense utilization of agrochemicals for its production, while biodynamic agriculture does entirely without these chemicals, using special preparations instead. In their study, which was carried out independently of the Goetheanum’s Section for Agriculture, Mario Malagoli, Stefania Sut, Gourav Kumar and Stefano Dall’acqua provide evidence that applying the biodynamic horn silica (501) preparation to the plants Vitis vinifera cv Garganega leads to an increase in phenolic metabolites in the leaves and berries, making the plants better able to adapt to existing environmental conditions. The preparation brings more light to the plants, helping them to grow more effectively and develop higher quality.
The authors conducted their research on two different vineyards. The leaves and berries were collected six hours and eleven days after the application of the horn silica. A sample of berries was also taken during harvesting.
The scientists point out that ‘more research is certainly needed to further explore the role of 501 biodynamic treatment on grapevine secondary metabolism’ and that ‘complementary approaches combining targeted and untargeted data related to primary and to secondary metabolism may offer a new opportunity in the evaluation of the complex and multifactorial effects of biodynamic treatment in viticulture.’