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Food Chemistry 122 (2010) 1338–1343

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Food Chemistry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Analytical Methods

Copper contents in grapes and wines from a Mediterranean organic vineyard

Maria Rosaria Provenzano a,*, Hamid El Bilali a, Vito Simeone b, Nuray Baser b, Donato Mondelli a,
Gianluigi Cesari b
a
Dipartimento di Biologia e Chimica Agro-Forestale ed Ambientale, University of Bari, Via G. Amendola 165/a, 70126 Bari, Italy
b
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (IAM-B), Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzano (Bari), Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This work was conducted in an organic vineyard in Bari (South-Eastern Italy) to evaluate copper concen-
Received 6 November 2008 trations in grapes and wines of four local and international varieties (Chardonnay, Primitivo, Uva di Troia
Received in revised form 14 October 2009 and Negroamaro) and to relate these contents to total and available copper concentrations in soil.
Accepted 24 March 2010
Approximately 7.4 kg/ha of copper were used in the trial year. Soil copper availability was higher in
the 0–20 cm (10.3%) than in the 20–40 cm layer (4.7%). No copper phytotoxicity was observed on leaves.
Copper residues on berries and in wines resulted below the maximum residue levels (MRLs). Concentra-
Keywords:
tions in berries increased with applications number and varied according to the variety. Copper content
Copper
Organic viticulture
in the white wine (Chardonnay) was higher with respect to red ones (Primitivo, Uva di Troia and Negro-
Soil amaro). Results provided evidence that in the natural conditions typical of a Mediterranean environment,
Berries characterised by calcareous soils and a dry climate, the use of copper formulations in vineyards according
Wine to European legislation guidelines should not raise any concern with regards to human health.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Copper is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms,

The Italian organic wine sector has dramatically increased. In
the last years, the organic vineyard area has doubled, reaching
more than 40,000 ha, while organic wineries account for more than
9000 farms (Rossetto, 2007). In Apulia region (South-Eastern Italy)
organic agriculture has been rapidly growing mainly due to policy
support. Apulia represents 9% of the Italian organic land. Organic
land area represents 6.9% of the regional agricultural area. Vine-
yards cover 3% (2888 ha) of the regional organic agriculture land
area (Pugliese, 2006).
Copper (Cu) is one of the most important biopesticides used in
organic farms. It is effective against a high number of crops pests
and it is utilised as a fungicide, a bactericide and also as a herbi-
cide. Copper formulations are effective against grapevine (Vitis
vinifera L.) downy mildew and they have a secondary effect on
grapevine powdery mildew and on a wide range of other grapevine
insect pests and diseases (Boubals, 2001; Ferreira, Strecht, Ribeiro,
Soeiro, & Cotrim, 1998; Morando, Morando, Bevione, & Lembo,
1997). Copper use for pest management has a very long history.
Bordeaux Mixture (i.e. Bouillie Bordelaise), a simple mixture of cop-
per sulphate and lime, was discovered by Alexis Millardet in France
in the 1880s and it was the world’s first commercially successful
fungicide (Ayres, 2004).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 080 5442929; fax: +39 080 5442850.
E-mail address: provenza@agr.uniba.it (M.R. Provenzano).
including humans, who require it for normal metabolic processes
along with amino and fatty acids as well as vitamins. However,
as the body cannot synthesise copper, the human diet must supply
regular amounts. Copper deficiency leads to an increased risk of
developing coronary heart disease whereas high levels of copper
can be harmful. The symptoms of acute copper poisoning include
nausea, vomiting and abdominal and muscle pain (Britton, 1996;
Olivares & Uauy, 1996).
Since copper deficiency and copper excess produce adverse ef-
fects, monitoring copper level in soil and food is of crucial impor-
tance for human health.
Determination of total copper contents is an important step in
estimating its hazards and negative impacts on terrestrial ecosys-
tems. However, from the eco-toxicological point of view, it is
important as well to determine copper bioavailability, which rep-
resents the fraction that can be utilised by microorganisms and
plants (Lepp, 2003).
Regarding crops, some authors reported that no correlation was
observed between total and/or extractable (available) copper con-
centrations and its contents in plants or plants organs (Hinsinger,
2001; Marschner, 1995; McLaughlin, Smolders, & Merckx, 1998).
However, Romić, Romić, and Ondrašek (2004) found that DTPA
(diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid)-extractable copper was lar-
gely explained by total copper contents in Croatian vineyards.
Brun, Le Corff, and Maillet (2003) stated that plants aerial parts
would not be a good indicator of vines Cu uptake from French soils,

0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.03.103
 Author's personal copy
M.R. Provenzano et al. / Food Chemistry 122 (2010) 1338–1343
as they provide no insight into the real amount of Cu transferred
from soils to plants.
On the other hand, the accurate determination of copper in
wine is of crucial importance for wine quality. Elevated copper
concentrations can cause oxidative spoilage leading to pinking of
red wine, browning of white wine as well as haze formation. The
generally recommended ‘‘safe” copper concentration (total copper)
is below 0.3–0.5 lg ml1 (Clark & Scollary, 2000).
The objective of the present research is to evaluate total copper
contents in grapes and wines of four local and international varie-
ties namely Chardonnay, Negroamaro, Primitivo and Uva di Troia
grown in a Mediterranean organic vineyard and to relate these
contents to total and available copper concentrations in soil.
2. Experimental
2.1. Field trial
This work was conducted in an experimental spur-pruned or-
ganic vineyard established in 2002 at the Mediterranean Agro-
nomic Institute of Bari (IAM-B) (approximate coordinates: 41°020
as latitude and 16°530 as longitude), Apulia region, South-Eastern
Italy. In the vineyard four renowned counter espalier-trained wine
varieties are grown: Primitivo, Negroamaro, Uva di Troia and Char-
donnay. The vineyard was divided into eight plots each covering a
land area of about 150 m2 and containing 15 plants for each of the
four varieties. Each statistical treatment (control and copper-trea-
ted) was repeated on four plots. Copper treatments, carried out
using a formulation containing 20% of copper as oxychloride
(OssiclorÒ), were initiated as the rule of the three tens was fulfilled
(10 °C; 10 mm of rainfall; 10 cm-long shoots) and carried on only
when climatic conditions resulted favourable to fungus develop-
ment (high humidity and rainfall). Approximately 1000 L of spray-
ing mixture (copper-based formulation + water) were used in each
application. Temperature (max, min and mean), humidity (max,
min and mean) and rainfall were constantly recorded during the
whole period of the trial at the agro-meteorological station of the
IAM-B.
2.2. Soil and bunches sampling
During April 2006, before starting treatments during the new
vine growing season, soil samples were collected at 0–20 cm and
20–40 cm depths. Three sub-samples were collected from different
places and were bulked to obtain a representative sample for the
site.
Four different bunches of each variety were sampled in July 19,
August 20, September 19, and 26. The same number of bunches of
each variety were also collected from the vineyard part that has
not been treated so that copper determined in these samples can
be considered as natural.
Copper predicted environmental concentrations in soil (PECs)
are evaluated assuming that no copper degradation occurs be-
tween its application and sampling dates, that the whole quantity
of copper sprayed remains in the top 10 cm horizon and that the
sampled soil has a bulk density of 1.25 g/cm3. It is also assumed
that even if vines intercept a part of copper during treatments, that
fraction ends up in soil after rain-induced washing-off and/or after
leaves fall. Of course, it is supposed that the copper-based pesticide
distribution was homogeneous in the whole field. In addition, it is
also assumed that the amount of copper absorbed by plants and
stored in the different organs (leaves, bunches, shoots, etc.) that
are removed by some cultural operations (hard and green pruning,
bunches thinning, harvest, etc.) is so small that it can be neglected.
1339
2.3. Soil physical and chemical analyses
Prior to analysis, soil samples were air-dried at green house
temperature (approximately 25–30 °C), lightly ground, mixed
thoroughly in order to homogenise them, and sieved through a
2 mm stainless steel sieve. Soils chemical and physical analyses
were carried out in accordance with internationally recommended
and accepted analysis procedures and/or Italian official methods
(MIPAAF, 1999). Particles sizes distribution was determined using
the pipette method (Gee & Bauder, 1986), after dispersing soil
samples with sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium carbonate
solutions. Textural classes were determined in accordance with
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) classification. Soil
pH was measured by a pH meter Crison Basic 20Ò in distilled
water pHH2 O using a suspension 1:2.5 soil to water phase ratio.
Electrical conductivity (EC) was determined by a conductimeter
(XS instruments cond. 510Ò) on an aqueous extract (soil filtrate)
of a mixture soil to water 1:2 ratio. Organic carbon was deter-
mined by Walkley and Black method modified by Jackson
(1958). Total carbonate was determined using a volumetric meth-
od based on its dissolution with hydrochloric acid (HCl) followed
by measurement in Dietrich–Fruehling calcimeter. Available Cu
was determined by DTPA (0.05 M DTPA + 0.01 M CaCl2 + 0.1 M tri-
ethanolamine (TEA) solution buffered at pH 7.3 with HCl) with 2 h
of continuous shaking (Lindsay & Norvell, 1978). Extracts were fil-
tered with Whatman 42 before their analysis by ICP-OES – induc-
tively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (Thermo
Electron, ICAP 3000Ò) at 324.75 nm wavelength. All chemicals
used were of analysis grade and purchased from Sigma Aldrich,
Milan, Italy.
2.4. Total copper analysis
For soil analysis the following procedure was carried out: 0.5 g
of fine soil were put in 50 ml Teflon vessels, with automated pres-
sure and temperature regulation, then 3.0 ml of 70% HNO3, 1.0 ml
37% HCl and 1.0 ml of 30% H2O2 were poured in the vessels. Soils
were digested in a microwave oven (CEMÒ, MarsX Press) as follow:
3 min at 140 °C; 3 min at 165 °C, and 20 min at 190 °C. Soil extracts
were then filtered by Whatman 42 paper filter.
Berries were analysed as follow: 1 g of the homogenised sample
was poured in a 250 ml Erlenmeyer beaker, acidified with concen-
trated HNO3 and added with 20 ml of H2O2. The total volume was
reduced to 3 ml on a heating plate and 9 ml of concentrated HCl
and 3 ml of concentrated HNO3 were added. A condenser with a
water-based cooling system was applied to the flask and heated
for 2 h. The volume was adjusted to 50 ml with distilled water.
Only 10 ml of the solution were submitted to analysis. Five deter-
minations were made for each grape variety and each sample.
Bunches were submitted to micro-vinification at the Santi Dim-
itri winery in Galatina (Lecce, Italy). Micro-vinification was carried
out according to a standard winemaking protocol set for organic
grape cultivars and designed to limit, as much as possible, techno-
logical interventions and remedial actions during all winemaking
stages: crushing, de-stemming, pressing, fermentation, decanting,
filtration, clarification, etc. The aim is not to obtain excellent wines,
but ‘‘natural” wines that are as much as possible the expression of
grape variety and the terroir (mainly soil and climate) interaction.
White wine (Chardonnay) making included: soft vacuum pressing,
static cold settling and fermentation at 13 °C. Red wines (Primitivo,
Negroamaro, and Uva di Troia) making comprised: entire berries
maceration for 6 days, fermentation at 28 °C, soft vacuum pressing
and short ageing. Since the objective was that of producing a ‘‘nat-
ural” wine no selected yeast strains were added. All the instru-
ments used during the pressing, fermentation, decanting,
filtration, clarification, fermentation or short ageing do not contain
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1340 M.R. Provenzano et al. / Food Chemistry 122 (2010) 1338–1343

copper. Moreover, the same instruments and utensils were used to 3.2. Copper quantities used in the vineyard
process and handle all the wine samples. Therefore, we can exclude
that during the micro-vinification process any copper contamina- In the year of the trial, climatic conditions produced two impor-
tion occurred. Wine samples were analysed just before bottling tant infectious cycles when important rainfall events occurred dur-
in March/May 2007. The sample pretreatment procedure adopted ing the growing season (Fig. 1).
was that suggested by Brainina et al. (2004) for not aged wines Disease levels were medium on leaves and medium–low on
with a 3:10 dilution in 5% HNO3. bunches. As for leaves, Negroamaro resulted the most susceptible
All total copper determinations were performed using an opti- cultivar and Chardonnay the most resistant. Regarding bunches,
cal emission spectrometer (Thermo Electron, ICAP 3000) at the least susceptible varieties were Chardonnay and Negroamaro.
324.75 nm wavelength. No infection was observed on shoots. Apart from shoots, a signifi-
cant statistical difference (ANOVA and Student’s T-test) was always
observed between the control and the copper-treated statistical
2.5. Statistical analyses treatment in terms of disease incidence.
Copper treatments performed during the trial are reported in
Data were analysed, when necessary, by one-way analysis of Table 2. Nine treatments were carried out with rates that ranged
variance (ANOVA) and Student’s T-test. Duncan test was used for from 350 ml/hl, at the beginning of the season, to 450 ml/hl in
multiple range separation of means. Significant differences were June, which is the month with maximum disease pressure and
determined at a significance level equal to or lower than 5% highest plant organs susceptibility. Intervals between treatments
(p 6 5%). An SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) soft- ranged from 5 to 12 days.
ware version (SPSS 12.0 for Windows) was used to carry out all sta- The organic farm was established in 2002 and copper was used
tistical tests. for the first time in 2004. The vineyard has been managed accord-
ing to organic agriculture rules since its establishment. Copper
quantities used were: 5 kg/ha in 2004 and 13 kg/ha in 2005. The
3. Results and discussion total amount of copper used in the year of the trial, 2006, was
7.4 kg/ha corresponding to a PEC of 5.9 mg/kg. Moreover, med-
3.1. Soil physical and chemical properties ium-term PEC (2004–2006) should be equal to 20.3 mg/kg.
The European Commission regulation No. 473/2002, amending
Results of chemical and physical analyses are shown in Table 1. the European Council regulation No. 2092/91 on organic agricul-
As data show, the soil is alkaline, with a balanced texture and is ture, limited copper use to 6 kg/ha/year from 2006 and further
quite rich in organic matter (OM). Clay content increases with reductions are not excluded in the new Council regulation No.
depth. EC is higher in the shallow sampling layer. OM contents 834/2007. This limit is calculated considering the whole organic
are slightly higher in the subsoil. Total carbonate (TC) contents farm land area and not each hectare of that farm or each field. This
are quite high in the 0–20 cm layer probably due to the fact that means, in practical terms and for organic certification purposes,
Apulian vine growers are used to crashing rocks, especially calcar- that even when the total quantity of copper used on a specific crop
eous ones, in their vineyards. (grapevine in the present case) is higher than 6 kg/ha/year, organic

Table 1
Soil chemical and physical properties. Averages were calculated considering all the samples collected at the same depth. pHH2 O , EC, organic matter and total carbonate values were
expressed as means ± standard errors.

Depth (cm) Clay (g/kg) Texture class (USDA) pHH2 O (1:2.5) Organic matter (g/kg) EC (dS/m) Total carbonate (g/kg)

0–20 233 Loam 7.99 ± 0.01 20.7 ± 0.7 0.30 ± 0.02 228 ± 22
20–40 314 Silt loam 7.93 ± 0.01 26.1 ± 1.6 0.19 ± 0.01 31 ± 10

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
July III
June III

July II

August III
March III

April III

May III

June II

July I

August II
Feb. III

March II

April II

May II

June I

Sept. III
August I
Feb. II

March I

April I

May I

Sept. II
Feb. I

Sept. I

Oct. I

Rainfall (mm) Tmean (°C) Hmean (%)

Fig. 1. Climatic conditions in IAM-B vineyard, 2006. Climatic parameters are reported as decades’ (10 days) averages.
 Author's personal copy

M.R. Provenzano et al. / Food Chemistry 122 (2010) 1338–1343 1341

Table 2
Copper-based treatments in IAM-B vineyard.

Treatments No. Dates Dose (ml/hl) Phenological stage Interval between treatments (days)
1 April 20 350 Separate leaves –
2 May 02 12
3 May 12 400 Bunches differentiation 10
4 May 22 Separate bunches 10
5 May 29 Bloom 7
6 June 03 450 End bloom 6
7 June 09 Berries setting 6
8 June 14 5
9 August 19 Veraison 66

farmers can stay in line with the organic regulation reducing the yards, DTPA-extractable Cu ranged from 5% to 52% of total copper
use of copper on another grape cultivar or even on a different crop (Flores-Veles, Ducaroir, Jaunet, & Robert, 1996). In general, copper
(e.g., olive). availability was quite high despite the soil pHH2 O was almost 8.0.

3.3. Total copper in soil

3.5. Copper contents in berries
Copper concentrations were statistically similar in the 0–20 and
Copper contents in berries are reported in Table 3. All the un-
20–40 cm layers and resulted 93.3 ± 4.6 mg/kg and 111.0 ± 5.5 mg/
treated bunches showed lower copper contents which did not
kg, respectively. In other works, higher concentrations in the 0–
change significantly during the whole growing season. Different
20 cm layer with respect to 20–40 cm layer were found (Pietrzak
copper contents were observed among the different varieties likely
& McPhail, 2004). Our result may be explained considering that
due to variety-specific genetic factors controlling the plant ability
tillage, to which vineyards are subjected in Apulia region, result
to uptake copper. The highest total copper concentrations were re-
in mixing up the different soil profile layers leading to a kind of
corded on Chardonnay (5 mg kg1) while the lowest were deter-
homogenisation of the heavy metal concentrations along the soil
mined on Uva di Troia (1.7 mg kg1). Anyway, content in all
profile.
grapes cultivars was below the maximum allowed residue level
Concentrations found in this work were lower than those found
(MRL) of copper in fresh grapes (20 mg kg1) (Italian Health Minis-
in Northern Italy which is characterised by different climatic con-
try Decree, 2004).
ditions. In a survey carried out in Italy it resulted that average Cu
Copper contents increased with increasing copper applications
contents of vineyard soils were 297 mg/kg in the wet Northern
number but were always below the MRL. Residue values found in
mountainous regions, where fungicidal treatments against downy
July were slightly lower than those recorded in August. No copper
mildew are frequent, 200 mg/kg in the wet plains, and only
decrease was observed from August to September in spite of some
75 mg/kg in the dry areas of the South, where fungicidal treat-
rain events. On September 19, one month after the last treatment
ments, especially those for controlling downy mildew, are much
performed on August 19 – that is to say 10 days longer than copper
less frequent (Deluisa et al., 1996).
pre-harvest interval (20 days) – copper contents in bunches re-
In addition, our values are comparable to those found by Rusjan,
mained, more or less, the same therefore the pre-harvest interval
Strlič, Pucko, and Korošec-Koruza (2007) in the Sub-Mediterranean
can result sometimes insufficient to reduce copper contents below
vineyards in Slovenia (71–160 mg/kg) and Brun, Maillet, Richarte,
the MRL.
Hermann, and Remy (1998) in French Mediterranean vineyards
(31–251 mg/kg) and much lower than those found in some re-
nowned winegrowing regions (Pietrzak & McPhail, 2004) where 3.6. Relationship between soil copper and its concentrations in berries
concentrations up to 1500 mg/kg were reached.
In Fig. 2 total copper, copper availability and the corresponding
3.4. Soil available copper total copper concentrations in untreated berries are shown. Sam-
pling carried out on September 19 was selected because it was
Available copper was 9.6 mg/kg in 0–20 cm layer and 5.25 mg/ the last one in which bunches of all the four cultivars were
kg in 20–40 cm layer thus exceeding the threshold of 0.1 mg/kg sampled.
Cu-DTPA (Sims & Johnson, 1991) considered as an indicator of cop- Total copper concentrations in grapes represented a half (char-
per deficiency. Copper availability (available copper/total copper donnay cultivar) to a fifth (Uva di Troia cultivar) of available copper
ratio) was also significantly influenced by depth (10.3% in 0– determined in 0–20 cm soil layer. In all cultivars, copper contents
20 cm and only 4.7% in 20–40 cm). In French Mediterranean vine- did not change significantly during the whole growing season.

Table 3
Copper content (mg/kg) on berries of the four wine grapes varieties. Sampling on 26 September was carried out only on cv. Uva di Troia which is the only late-ripening variety.
Values are expressed as means ± standard errors of the means (n = 3). Concentrations of copper in berries of different cultivars sampled the same day and from the same statistical
treatment (control or treated) followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan test at p 6 5%.

Sampling dates July 19 August 20 September 19 September 26

Cultivars Control Treated Control Treated Control Treated Control Treated

Negroamaro 2.26 ± 0.02 c 3.31 ± 0.02 d 2.02 ± 0.03 c 5.81 ± 0.04 d 2.19 ± 0.05 c 6.43 ± 0.03 c – –
Primitivo 2.58 ± 0.08 b 4.71 ± 0.05 c 2.35 ± 0.01 b 11.26 ± 0.09 b 2.51 ± 0.02 b 11.91 ± 0.21 a – –
Chardonnay 4.95 ± 0.08 a 5.77 ± 0.08 b 5.07 ± 0.04 a 11.61 ± 0.04 a 5.04 ± 0.03 a 14.02 ± 0.12 a – –
Uva di Troia 1.65 ± 0.01 d 6.49 ± 0.07 a 1.85 ± 0.03 d 9.32 ± 0.10 c 1.72 ± 0.01 c 9.97 ± 0.06 b 1.64 ± 0.02 10.39 ± 0.12
 Author's personal copy
1342 M.R. Provenzano et al. / Food Chemistry 122 (2010) 1338–1343
120 111.0
93.3
100
80
60
40
20
9.6
0
20-40 cm
0-20 cm
0-20 cm
Soil total copper (mg/kg) Soil copper availability(%)
Fig. 2. Total copper and copper availability in IAM-B organic vineyard soil and corresponding total copper concentrations in berries grown on the same soil. Bars represent
standard errors of the means.
In our study no copper phytotoxicity symptoms were observed
on plants organs especially leaves and shoots, which are consid-
ered the most sensitive organs. In general, vine is tolerant to high
copper doses since roots are deep and it possesses quite a wide
range of potential cellular mechanisms that may be involved in
heavy metals detoxification and tolerance to heavy metals-induced
stresses (Hall, 2002; Hoof et al., 2001; Leopold, Gunther, Schmidt,
& Neumann, 1999). In addition, it must be considered that in cal-
careous soils, as those of Apulia, Cu should be precipitated as
hydroxides or carbonates (Delas, 1963).
3.7. Copper concentrations in wines
Total copper concentrations in wines resulted: 462.3 ± 2.9 lg/L
in Chardonnay; 267.0 ± 4.0 lg/L in Uva di Troia; 255.0 ± 8.6 lg/L in
Primitivo; and 116.7 ± 0.6 lg/L in Negroamaro. All values were be-
low the MRL (1 mg/L) for both white and red wines (EEC regulation
No. 1410 of 7/8/2003, Annex IV). A significantly higher (Duncan
test, p 6 5%) copper concentration was found in Chardonnay white
wine. The lowest copper concentration was measured in Negroa-
maro red wine. The marked difference in copper content between
white and red wines might be due to the fact that, unlike white
wines, red wines undergo higher must aeration during the wine-
making process. Therefore, their higher oxygen content may in-
crease copper oxidation and copper salts precipitation. This
causes, usually, a higher copper content in white wines as reported
by Ostapczuk, Eschnauer, and Scollary (1997).
Copper concentrations in the wines were approximately 6 (Uva
di Troia) to 19 (Negroamaro) times lower than those determined in
the grape berries therefore it can be assumed that copper absorbed
by the vine is likely sequestered in the berries pulp and skins
which are discarded after the bunches crushing.
4. Conclusions
Total copper concentrations found in this work were within val-
ues typical of Mediterranean soils whereas available copper ex-
ceeded in both sampling depths the threshold of 0.1 mg/kg
considered as an indicator for copper deficiency. No copper phyto-
toxicity symptoms were observed on vines organs especially leaves
and shoots. Different copper contents were determined in berries
among the four cultivars likely due to variety-specific genetic fac-
tors controlling the plant ability to uptake copper. However, all val-
ues were below the allowed MRL in grapes and represented a fifth
5.25 10.3 4.7 2.2 2.5
Primitivo
Troia
20-40 cm
Uva di
Chardonnay
Negroamaro
Total copper in grapes (September 19)
to a half of available copper in the shallow layer (0–20 cm). Copper
concentrations in the wines were lower than those found in the
grape berries. Residues in the wines were always lower than the
MRL.
Results obtained in this paper point toward the general conclu-
sion that in the natural conditions typical of a Mediterranean envi-
ronment characterised by calcareous soils and a dry climate, the
use of copper formulations in vineyards according to the European
regulation on copper use in organic farms should not raise any con-
cern with regards to human health.
Acknowledgement
Funding for this work was provided by the University of Bari
and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (IAM-B) under
the Community initiative INTERREG III A Italy–Albania 2000–
2006: ‘‘integrated project for the diffusion and technical assistance
in the implementation of methodologies for the production of or-
ganic products”, Acronym: PAB.
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