terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 The influence of pre-heatwave leaf removal on leaf physiology and berry development

The influence of pre-heatwave leaf removal on leaf physiology and berry development

Abstract

Due to climate change, the occurrence of heatwaves and drought events is increasing, with significant impact on viticulture. Common ways to adapt viticulture to a changing climate include site selection, genotype selection, irrigation management and canopy management. The latter mentioned being for instance source-sink manipulations, such as leaf removal, with the aim to delay ripening.

However, there is limited knowledge on how leaf removal influences water relations, especially when applied immediately before a heatwave. The purpose of this study is to investigate how leaf removal (reducing the total leaf area by 30 % in the apical part of the canopy) influences leaf physiology and berry quality under multiple abiotic stress conditions. Using climate chambers that allow a fine control of the climatic conditions, a 5-day heatwave with maximum temperature of 40 °C will be simulated. The factorial experiment includes two levels of soil water availability (irrigated, drought stressed) and two levels of defoliation (defoliated, not defoliated) with the intention to determine how pre-heatwave leaf removal influences (I) the usage of water under heat and drought conditions, (II) leaf physiological performance (gas exchange, photosystem efficiency), as well as (III) berry development and quality (yield, chemical composition and berry mechanical properties). Our hypothesis is that, by significantly reducing the leaf area (i.e. water transpiring surface) before a heatwave, fewer irrigation water is needed to maintain a favorable water status. The experiment is currently ongoing (summer 2023), therefore we cannot provide preliminary results at this stage. Nevertheless, with our results we hope to validate leaf removal a new and easy to implement short-term adaption strategy to make viticulture more resilient in the context of climate change.

DOI:

Publication date: October 9, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Mario Wegher1, 2*, Georg Niedrist2, Massimo Tagliavini1, Carlo Andreotti1

1Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
2Institute for Alpine Environment, European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen, Drususallee 1, Bolzano, 39100, Italy

Contact the author*

Keywords

grapevine, drought stress, heat stress, leaf removal, berry quality

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Effects of laccase from Botrytis cinerea on the oxidative degradation kinetics of the five natural grape anthocyanins

Enzymatic browning[1] is an oxidation process that occurs in many foods that increases the brown colour[2]. This problem is especially harmful in the wine industry[3]. especially when the grapes are infected by grey rot since this fung release the oxidative enzyme laccase[4]. In the particular case of red wines, the presence of laccase implies the deterioration of the red colour and can even cause the precipitation of the coloring matter (oxidasic haze)[5].

Late winter pruning induces a maturity delay under temperature-increased conditions in cv. Merlot from Chile

Chile is considered vulnerable to climate change; and these phenomena affect several mechanisms in the grape physiology and quality. The global temperature increase affects sugar contents, organic acids, and phenolic compounds in grapes, producing an imbalance maturity. In this sense, an alternative to reduce the impact is to perform pruning after vine budburst, known as “Late Pruning” (LP).

Assessing the Effectiveness of Electrodialysis in Controlling Brettanomyces Growth in Wine

Brettanomyces yeast can negatively impact the quality and stability of wines, posing a significant challenge to winemakers. [1] This study aims to develop novel management practices to limit Brettanomyces impact on wines by evaluating the effectiveness of electrodialysis (ED) technology in removing magnesium (Mg2+) from wine to prevent the development of Brettanomyces yeast. The ED technique utilizes charged membranes to extract ions from the wine, and it is considered an alternative to cold stabilization that requires less energy. [2]

Exploring intra-vineyard variability with sensor- and molecular-based approaches 

The application of remote and proximal sensing is a fast and efficient method to monitor grapevine vegetative and physiological parameters and is considered valuable to derive information on associated yield and quality traits in the vineyard. Further details can be obtained by the application of molecular analysis at the gene expression level aiming at elucidating how pathways controlling the formation of different grape quality traits are influenced by spatial variability. This work aims at evaluating intra-vineyard variability in grape composition at harvest and at comparing this with remotely sensed canopy vegetation data and molecular-based approaches.

Response of red grape varieties irrigated during the summer to water availability at the end of winter in four Spanish wine-growing regions: berry phenolic composition

Water availability is the most limiting factor for vineyard productivity under Mediterranean conditions. Due to the effects caused by the current climate change, wine-growing regions may face serious soil moisture conservation problems, due to the lower water retention capacity of the soil and higher soil irradiation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil recharge irrigation in pre-sprouting and summer irrigation every week (30 % ETo) from the pea size state until the end of ripening (RP) compared to exclusively summer irrigation every week (R) in the same way that RP, on berry phenolic composition at harvest.