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…

Can yeast cells sense other yeasts beyond competition interactions?

The utilization of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in the wine industry has increased significantly in recent years. Alternative species need commonly be employed in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae to avoid stuck fermentation, or microbial spoilage. The employment of more than one yeast starter can lead to interactions between different species with an impact on the outcome of wine fermentation. Previous studies[1] demonstrated that S. cerevisiae elicits transcriptional responses with both shared and species-specific features in co-culture with other yeast species.

First results on the chemical composition of red wines from the pressing of marc

In the Bordeaux vineyards, press wine represents approximately 15% of the total volume of wine produced[1]. Valuing this large volume of wine is necessary from an economic point of view, but also because of their organoleptic contribution to the blend, and their contribution to the construction of wines for laying down. Therefore, this study was developed considering the lack of recent scientific knowledge on the composition of red press wines. The aim of this study is to establish an initial assessment of their chemical composition including aromatic compounds and a phenolic part.

Phenolic composition of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Argentina, Portugal and Spain

Grape and wine phenolic compounds have been shown to be highly related to both wine quality (color, flavor, and taste) and health-promoting properties (antioxidant and cardioprotective, among others). The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare the phenolic contents of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from different geographical areas and climatic conditions, namely from Argentina, Portugal and Spain vintage 2022. In addition, the phenolic profiles of the Portuguese wines from three vintages (2020, 2021, 2022) was compared.

Vineyard yield estimation using image analysis: assessing bunch occlusions and its dependency on fruiting zone canopy features

Performing accurate vineyard yield estimation is of upmost importance as it provides important benefits to the whole vine and wine industry. Recently, image-analysis approaches have been explored to address this issue however this approach has as main challenge the bunch occlusion, mostly by vegetation but also by neighboring bunches. The present work aims at assessing the magnitude of bunch occlusion by neighboring bunches and to evaluate its dependency on a selection of vegetative and reproductive vine parameters assessed at fruiting zone. Forty vine segments (1 m) of two vineyard plots of the white cultivars ‘Alvarinho’ and ‘Arinto’ were assessed for vegetative and reproductive features at fruiting zone and imaged with a 2D camera.

Dynamics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae population in spontaneous fermentations from Granxa D’Outeiro terroir (DOP Ribeiro, NW Spain)

Granxa D’Outeiro is a recovered ancient vineyard located in the heart of DOP Ribeiro, where traditional white grapevine varieties are growing under sustainable management. Spontaneous fermentations using grape must from Treixadura, Albariño, Lado, Godello, and Loureira varieties were carried out at experimental winery of Evega. Yeasts were isolated from must and at different stages of fermentation. Those colonies belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae were characterized at strain level by mDNA-RFLPs.