Grow More Wine with Less Nitrogen: The Lono Revolution

Modern viticulture is about precision, sustainability, and quality. At Levity Crop Science, we’ve developed a unique nitrogen fertiliser that helps wine grape growers achieve all three. Lono is a functional fertiliser powered by Levity’s unique LimIn chemistry, delivering nitrogen in a stabilised amine form that is highly efficient, less prone to leaching, and capable of actively shaping vine growth.

Why Viticulturists Need a Smarter Nitrogen

In wine grape production, nitrogen is a double-edged sword. Conventional nitrogen fertilisers often drive excessive vegetative growth, which leads to dense canopies that shade fruit, delay ripening, and dilute flavour and aroma—key qualities in premium wine production. For this reason, many viticulturists are cautious with nitrogen use, balancing the need for yield against the risk of compromising grape quality.

Lono changes the equation. Its unique chemistry has the opposite effect of traditional N inputs: it promotes reproductive growth over vegetative expansion, giving growers a way to increase yield without sacrificing vine balance or fruit quality. With Lono, viticulturists can encourage growth in the right places—stronger roots, better panicle extension, and more uniform berries—while avoiding the negative phenotypes that conventional nitrogen often induces.

Understanding Lono: Not Just Nitrogen, Smart Nitrogen

Unlike conventional nitrate or ammonium fertilisers, which either leach quickly or drive unbalanced vegetative growth, Lono’s stabilised amine nitrogen enters the plant with minimal conversion. This shorter metabolic pathway means:

• More energy is available for photosynthesis, which powers all growth
• More nitrogen is channelled toward productive growth, not just leaves
• The vine develops a more fruit-forward phenotype

By supporting cytokinin activity, Lono encourages root development, panicle extension, and berry set, creating stronger, more balanced vines that put energy into yield rather than excessive foliage.

Trial Spotlight: Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand

A large-scale, multi-season trial conducted in the Marlborough region—New Zealand’s leading wine grape area—demonstrated Lono’s consistent benefits on Sauvignon Blanc.

Sauvignon Blanc was selected for this trial as a stern test of nitrogen management. It is a variety particularly prone to vegetative growth and sensitive to excess nitrogen, which can lead to overly vigorous canopies, delayed ripening, and diminished flavour intensity. This made it an ideal candidate to evaluate whether Lono could promote yield without pushing unwanted foliage.

Over multiple growing seasons, Lono-treated blocks were compared against untreated controls to assess yield, canopy quality, and vine balance. This trial wasn’t a small-scale test it represented real-world viticultural conditions, tracking full production blocks across different years. Notably:

• Yield Increase: Treated blocks saw a significant increase in grape yield compared to control. In the first season, the Lono-treated blocks delivered an average yield increase of 15.2%, while the control blocks remained flat. In the second year, Lono-treated blocks retained this elevated yield, confirming consistency and long-term effect, while control blocks experienced a notable decline of 6.8%. This demonstrated not only Lono’s ability to stimulate yield in the short term but its impact on maintaining vine productivity year-on-year.

Summary of Trial Results

Growers observed vines showing increased resilience and more controlled, balanced growth. The sustained yield advantage alongside improved vine structure highlights Lono’s value as a strategic tool for both productivity and quality in wine grape production.

Why It Works in Wine Grapes

Wine grapes are a crop where quality and balance matter as much as yield. Lono supports this by:

• Reducing excessive canopy that can shade fruit
• Supporting stronger roots for improved nutrient uptake
• Improving nitrogen use efficiency, reducing both cost and environmental impact

Sustainability You Can See

Traditional nitrogen contributes to pollution, leaching, and greenhouse gas emissions. Lono reduces these risks by:

• Providing nitrogen in a low-loss, plant-preferred form
• Enabling reductions in synthetic N use
• Promoting smarter, climate-friendly farming

Less Vine = More Wine!

In the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc trial, Lono helped produce over 2,100 additional bottles of wine per hectare, compared to conventional nitrogen. Even more impressively, the carbon footprint per extra bottle from Lono use was just 0.0121 kg CO₂e, compared to 0.1866 kg CO₂e for bottles produced with conventional nitrogen—a 93% reduction in carbon emissions per additional bottle.

This illustrates the power of functional fertilisers like Lono. By shifting plant phenotype, Lono doesn’t just grow more leaves—it grows more of what matters, in a more sustainable way.

Ready to Grow Smarter?

Lono is already helping wine grape growers produce better fruit with less nitrogen. Want to learn more? Contact Levity Crop Science and discover how smarter nitrogen can elevate your vines and your harvest.