3.5. Dryness Index
Dryness Index (DI) is a viti cultural climate index that characterizes the water component of a region, strongly
related to the qualitative characteristics of grapes and wine [10]. DI was adapted from the potential water balance of
soil index. It takes into account the climatic demand of a standard vineyard, evaporation from bare soil, rainfall
without deduction for surface runoff or drainage. It indicates the potential water availability in the soil, related to the
level of dryness in a region. As in general both tea cultivation and wine grape cultivation only relies to natural
precipitation only, this indicator will be very important for the cultivation process as this index measures soil water.