GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 Different yield regulation strategies in semi-minimal-pruned hedge (SMPH) and impact on bunch architecture

Different yield regulation strategies in semi-minimal-pruned hedge (SMPH) and impact on bunch architecture

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study – Yields in the novel viticulture training system Semi-Minimal-Pruned Hedge (SMPH) are generally higher compared to the traditional Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP). Excessive yields have a negative impact on the vine and wine quality, which can result in substantial losses in yield in subsequent vintages (alternate bearing) or penalties in fruit quality. Therefore yield regulation is essential. The bunch architecture in SMPH differs from VSP. Generally there is a higher amount but smaller bunches with lower single berry weights in SMPH compared to VSP. By means of different yield-regulating measures, i.e. biochemical thinning concepts, harvester thinning and Darwin-rotor (Fruit Tec Maschinenbau, Markdorf, Germany) the bunch architecture in SMPH is altered. A loose bunch architecture minimizes the risk of bunch rot and improves grape health. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of different yield regulation strategies in SMPH on the bunch architecture.

Material and methods – Under field conditions, three different thinning methods were tested on the two fungus-resistant grape varieties Rondo, Regent, and additionally Riesling at Geisenheim, Germany (49°59´20” N; 7°55´56 ” E). Both biochemical and mechanical thinning concepts were pursued. The biochemical grape thinning treatment was applied during flowering with the plant growth regulator gibberellic acid (Gibb3; Plantan GmbH, Buchholz, Germany). The mechanical thinning was performed using a harvester at berry pea size stage of fruit development and the Darwin-rotor, which was originally developed for horticultural crops and commonly used for mechanical blossom thinning by horizontally rotating strings. In the vineyard it has been used for thinning young canes a week after budburst (E-L-scale: 9). The three thinning treatments were compared to non-treated VSP and SMPH control and bunch architecture has been investigated.

Results – Lower bunch weight, berry weight and rachis weight were detected in all SMPH treatments compared to VSP. Statistically significant lower bunch weight was detected for SMPH using harvester thinning compared to SMPH thinning with gibberellic acid, thinning with Darwin-rotor and a non-treated SMPH control. No differences in rachis weight were observed between the SMPH treatments. Our results indicate a looser bunch architecture using a harvester and gibberellic acid for yield regulation compared to a non-treated SMPH control. Whereas thinning with the Darwin-rotor resulted in an increase of berry diameter and bunch weight hence more compact bunches.

DOI:

Publication date: September 29, 2023

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Poster

Authors

Jan SCHÄFER*, Matthias FRIEDEL and Manfred STOLL

Hochschule Geisenheim University, Von-Lade-Str. 1, D-65366 Geisenheim, Germany

Contact the author

Keywords

Semi-Minimal-Pruned Hedge (SMPH), yield regulation, thinning, bunch architecture, Darwin-rotor, gibberellic acid

Tags

GiESCO | GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

D-wines: use of LC-MS metabolomic space to discriminate italian mono-varietal red wines

Studying wine metabolome through multiple targeted methods is complicated and limitative; since grapes, yeasts, bacteria, oxygen, enological techniques and wine aging collaborate to deliver one of the richest metabolomic fingerprint.

Identification of novel aromatic precursors in winemaking grapes using an optimized fractionation and UHPLC-MS analysis

Winemaking grapes contain a diverse array of non-volatile precursors that become noticeable only after hydrolysis reactions or molecular rearrangements, during which aroma compounds are generated and released [1]. Among these, glycosidic precursors are the most abundant and play a key role in the development of wine aroma [2].

Impact of soil characteristics on grape composition of Tempranillo variety under different weather conditions in Rioja DOCa (Spain)

Aims: The objective of this research was to analyse the spatial and temporal variability of vine phenology of the Tempranillo variety in the Toro Designation of Origen (DO) related to climatic conditions at present and under future climate change scenarios.

Climate ethnography and wine environmental futures

Globalisation and climate change have radically transformed world wine production upsetting the established order of wine ecologies. Ecological risks and the future of traditional agricultural systems are widely debated in anthropology, but very little is understood of the particular challenges posed by climate change to viticulture which is seen by many as the canary in the coalmine of global agriculture. Moreover, wine as a globalised embedded commodity provides a particularly telling example for the study of climate change having already attracted early scientific attention. Studies of climate change in viticulture have focused primarily on the production of systematic models of adaptation and vulnerability, while the human and cultural factors, which are key to adaptation and sustainable futures, are largely missing. Climate experts have been unanimous in recognising the urgent need for a better understanding of the complex dynamics that shape how climate change is experienced and responded to by human systems. Yet this call has not yet been addressed. Climate ethnography, coined by the anthropologist Susan Crate (2011), aims to bridge this growing disjuncture between climate science and everyday life through the exploration of the social meaning of climate change. It seeks to investigate the confrontation of its social salience in different locations and under different environmental guises (Goodman 2018: 340). By understanding how wine producers make sense of the world (and the environment) and act in it, it proposes to focus on the co-production of interdisciplinary knowledge by identifying and foreshadowing problems (Goodman 2018: 342; Goodman & Marshall 2018). It seeks to offer an original, transformative and contrasted perspective to climate change scenarios by investigating human agency -individual or collective- in all its social, political and cultural diversity. An anthropological approach founded on detailed ethnographies of wine production is ideally placed to address economic, social and cultural disruptions caused by the emergence of these new environmental challenges. Indeed, the community of experts in environmental change have recently called for research that will encompass the human dimension and for more broad-based, integrated through interdisciplinarity, useful knowledge (Castree & al 2014). My paper seeks to engage with climate ethnography and discuss what it brings to the study of wine environmental futures while exploring the limitations of the anthropological environmental approach.

Dry leaf hyperspectral reflectance predicts leaf elemental composition in grafted hybrids

Elemental composition, measured as the concentrations of different elements present in a given tissue at a given time point, is a key indicator of vine health and development. While elemental composition and other high-throughput phenotyping approaches yield tremendous insight into the growth, physiology, and health of vines, costs and labor associated with repeated measures over time can be cost-prohibitive. Recent advances in handheld sensors that measure hyperspectral reflectance patterns of leaf tissue may serve as an affordable proxy for other types of phenotypic data, including elemental composition. Here, we ask if reflectance patterns of dried Chambourcin leaf tissue from an experimental grafting vineyard can predict the known elemental composition of those leaves.