-
Latest on tiger mosquitoes in France: where, what risk and what to do
Health fears mount as Olympic Games approach
-
WW2 veterans need your help as French hotels full for D-Day events
Can you provide suitable accommodation near the landing beaches?
-
New law seeks to limit French bank fees due when account holder dies
Half will not have to pay anything - down from an average €303 at present
Dordogne winemaker uses cotton pants to analyse soil
A winemaker in the Dordogne (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) is using French-made organic cotton underwear to analyse the effect of farming practices on soil quality, in an experiment dubbed #BreakSLIP.
Anthony Castaing, winemaker in Pomport, is one of six winemakers to have buried a pair of organic cotton pants in the soil in his vineyard. He will now monitor the fabric, to test how quickly the living microorganisms in the soil are able to break it down.
It has been buried 20cm deep, and is expected to stay there for three months while it is “attacked” by the biological elements in the ground.
Five other winemakers in the region are to take part in the experiment, which will finish on June 20.
Overall, the quicker the organic cotton disappears, the better condition the soil is in, from a winemaker perspective.
Comment connaître la qualité d’un sol ? En enfouissant pendant plusieurs mois une petite culotte en coton bio ! #Breakslip #Dordogne @Chambagri24 #agricuture pic.twitter.com/5Guj8iJCDV
— France 3 Périgords (@F3Perigords) April 9, 2019
Mr Castaing said: “The ground is the principle element of all growth. The most important thing for us is that [the soil] is very much alive.”
The scheme was set up in partnership with wine-growing technician Laurent Colombier, from the Dordogne chamber of agriculture.
Mr Colombier explained why the process involved using a pair of pants, rather than another item of clothing such as a cotton T-shirt.
He said: “Because of the [waistband] elastic! When the pants are dug up, the elastic will allow us to find them again, if the deterioration [of the cotton fabric] is too significant.”
This is because the elastic is not expected to degrade, and will stay visible even if the cotton material disappears completely.
The organic cotton underwear was donated to the experiment by Périgord-based company Olly Lingerie.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France