The Texas wine industry is now 25 years old and some vineyards have grown well while others have been in a steady state of decline or died. Often times, it is very difficult to determine why vines are declining. If it is not Pierce's Disease, Cotton Root Rot or Freeze, there seldom is no single killer. This is the case with vineyard salinity.
Grapevines are moderately sensitive to salinity.
Leaf burn can develop when chloride, sodium or boron accumulates in the leaves. As water moves out of the leaf, the salt remains in the leaf and becomes toxic. Salt in the water or salt in the soil can reduce vine vigor, reduce yield and can kill the vines. Our first major experience with salinity in Texas was the University of Texas test plot at Van Horn, Texas. These vines became established and produced extremely high quality fruit, but the vine vigor due to salt was not strong enough to tolerate the west Texas climate.