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…

Development of a new method for detecting acetic acid bacteria in wine

The presence of acetic acid bacteria in wine can lead to the appearance of acetic acid at concentrations above the perception threshold, causing the wine rejection by the consumer. During the winemaking process, avoiding the presence of acetic acid bacteria is very difficult, as there is always a residual population accompanying the wine[1], and the problem arises with the significant development of these microorganisms that metabolizes large amounts of acetic acid.
The concern of wineries to control the presence of acetic acid bacteria in wines during their conservation is due to the absence of simple and effective analyses that allow the detection of these microorganisms in the initial stages.

Read More

Nitrogen forms and Iron deficiency: how do Grapevine rootstocks responses change?

Grapevine rootstocks provide protection against environmental biotic and abiotic stresses. Nitrogen (N) and iron (Fe) are growth-limiting factors in many crop plants due to their effects on the chlorophyll and photosynthetic characteristics. Iron nutrition of plants can be significantly affected by different nitrogen forms through altering the uptake ratio of cations and anions, and changing rhizosphere pH. The aim of this study was to investigate the response mechanisms of grapevine rootstocks due to the interaction between different nitrogen forms and iron uptake.

Read More

Integrative study of Vitis biodiversity for next-generation breeding of grapevine rootstocks 

Drought is one of the main challenges for viticulture in the context of global change. The choice of rootstock could be leveraged for vineyard adaptation to drought as we can improve plant performance without modifying the scion variety. However, most of the existing rootstocks, selected over a century ago, have a narrow genetic background which could compromise their adaptive potential.

Read More

Sensory profile of wines obtained from disease-resistant varieties in La Rioja

The European wine industry is facing multiple challenges derived from climate change and the pressure of different fungal diseases that are compromising the production of traditional varieties. A sustainable alternative maybe the adoption of resistant varieties.
In this study, we have evaluated the enological potential of 9 resistant varieties (5 white and 4 red varieties) in La Rioja. Microvinifications were carried out with three biological replications. Oenological parameters were very diverse with acid content varying from 2.6 g/L to 6.6 g/L.

Read More

Effect of drought on grapevine wood fungal pathogen communities using a metatranscriptomics approach

Crops are facing increasing biotic and abiotic stress pressures due to global changes. However, trade-off mechanisms between these stresses and the underlying physiological processes are still poorly understood, especially in perennial crop species. To better understand these trade-offs, we studied the effect of drought on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) physiology and esca-related wood fungal communities. Esca is a vascular disease caused by a community of wood-infecting pathogenic fungi, and characterized by trunk necrosis, leaf scorch symptoms, yield losses, and mortality.

Read More