What Is a Healthy Soil for Winegrape Production? Grower Perspectives Differ From Soil Health Paradigms

ABSTRACT Soil health (SH) is linked to sustainable agriculture, yet few studies link SH assessments to specific crop‐relevant outcomes needed. This study integrates grower participation to align SH indicators with relevant outcomes for winegrape production. We evaluated the variability of common SH indicators with respect to grower ratings of soils (ideal vs. challenging), soil texture, vineyard zones (vine vs. tractor rows), and tillage management (till vs. no‐till). Soils were collected from 16 challenging and 16 ideal vineyard soils, rated by growers based on their perceived influence on vine vigor control and grape quality in Napa Valley (California, USA). Surface soil samples were collected at two depths (0–10, 10–20 cm). The indicators evaluated included total carbon (TC), permanganate oxidizable C (POXC), mineralizable C (Min C), microbial biomass C (MBC), dissolved organic C (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), ‐N, ‐N, potentially mineralizable N (PMN), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, bulk density, wet aggregate stability (WAS), penetration resistance, and infiltration rate. Our findings suggest that TC, POXC, DOC, TN, EC, pH, and WAS are relevant indicators of SH for wine grape production from growers' perspectives. However, grower perspectives were guided by soil texture due to its strong association with soil water availability and vigor control. Finer texture soils with higher TC, POXC, TN, and WAS were associated with poorer agronomic outcomes, contradicting current SH paradigms. Most indicators were higher in the 0–10 cm depth and in the plant‐covered tractor rows compared to the 10–20 cm depth and the bare, irrigated vine rows. Bulk density was higher under tillage, especially at 10–20 cm, while POXC and Min C were higher in the 0–10 cm under no‐till. These results highlight the value of integrating growers' views into SH assessments and the need for crop‐specific SH research and outreach. Grower participation facilitated the identification of surface SH indicators linked to their current management decisions. This study underscores the importance of texture and management as guides for interpreting surface SH indicators and provides insights on further considerations needed to make SH assessments more relevant for winegrape production.