GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 Soil proximal sensing provides direction in delineating plant water status of ‘crimson seedless’ (Vitis vinifera L.) vineyards

Soil proximal sensing provides direction in delineating plant water status of ‘crimson seedless’ (Vitis vinifera L.) vineyards

Abstract

Context and Purpose of the Study – ‘Crimson Seedless’ (Vitis vinifera L.) is a late-ripening, red seedless table grape cultivar with inadequate anthocyanin accumulation and less than ideal berry size issues. It was necessary to understand the natural variations in the vineyard as well as the application of proximal sensing to monitor, and estimate these variations to get desirable attributes in this cultivar. The objective of this study was to use of proximal and remote sensing tools, specifically soil electrical conductivity (EC), canopy normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and carbon isotope discrimination in a precision agriculture context, to assess the water status variability, and determine the effect of inferred variability on skin anthocyanin and flavonol concentration at harvest.

Material and Methods – A ‘Crimson Seedless’ (V. vinifera L.) grafted on to ‘Freedom’ (27% vinifera hybrid) rootstock vineyard was studied for two years with contrasting precipitation amounts. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) was proximally sensed with electromagnetic induction and canopy reflectance was sensed remotely to calculate normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Random and equi-distant (30 m × 30 m) sampling grids were utilized in 2016 and 2017 to ground truth proximally sensed data. Grape primary metabolites, including total soluble solids, total acidity, isotopic discrimination of berry sugars (δ13C) and pH were measured, and secondary metabolites were characterized with a C18 reversed-phase HPLC.

Results – Soil EC was related to the variation of season-long plant water status in 2016 (Deep EC: r = -0.71; Surface EC: r = -0.53). There was not a significant relationship between NDVI and plant water status in either year.  The vineyard was separated and delineated into two water status zones based on stem water potential (􀀁stem) in each year, and the water status between two zones were significantly and consistently different. The juice pH showed significant differences between two zones. The δ13C was directly and significantly related to 􀀁stem integrals and the differences between the two water status zones were confirmed by either method in 2016. There were no differences in total anthocyanins in 2016. However, anthocyanin derivatives were greater in the low water status zone in the following year. Flavonol amounts were not consistently different between the two zones in either year. Our results indicated deep soil EC, season-long water status or δ13C can be used interchangeably to spatialize and cluster management zones in commercial table grape vineyards.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: June 18, 2020

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Poster

Authors

Runze YU1, Luca BRILLANTE2, Johann MARTÍNEZ-LÜSCHER1, S. Kaan KURTURAL1

(1) Dept. of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
(2) Dept. of Viticulture and Enology, California State University, Fresno, CA, 93704, USA

Contact the author

Keywords

Crimson Seedless, table grapes, anthocyanins, flavonoids, water status, electrical conductivity, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), spatial variability, viticulture

Tags

GiESCO | GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of fining agents on Swiss Pinot noir red wines

In the context of climate change, excessive bitterness and astringency in wines have become increasingly prevalent. While variety selection and viticultural practices offer long-term solutions, they require considerable time before yielding practical results. In contrast, fining remains an accessible and immediate tool for winemakers.

Read More

Towards a unified terroir zoning methodology in viticulture

In viticulture, terroir is a key concept that refers to an area and thus possesses a geographical dimension. Hence, zoning of viticultural terroir is an important issue

Read More

Terroir and vine water relation effects on grape ripening and wine quality of Syrah/R99

A Syrah/R99 vineyard in the Stellenbosch area was used. The vineyard is vertically trained and spaced 2.75 x 1.5 m in north-south orientated rows on terroir with Glenrosa soil and west-facing slope. Irrigation (to 100% field water capacity) treatments were applied at different development stages [all stages (including berry set stage); pea size; véraison; post-véraison]. Combined effects of water status and ripeness level were investigated. Preliminary results are presented.

Read More

Impact of glutathione and elemental sulphur juice addition on the volatile thiol production in South African Sauvignon blanc wine

Three compounds, 3-mercaptohexanol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexyl-acetate (3MHA) and 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), also known as varietal thiols, have been identified to contribute positively to wine aroma and are responsible for the distinct gooseberry, grapefruit, guava and box tree character found in Sauvignon blanc wines. Certain volatile thiol compounds though, can cause off-aromas of onion, garlic, rubber and rotten egg, this group of molecules is known as reductive sulphur compounds (RSC). This study looks into how the addition of sulphur-compounds to Sauvignon blanc juice contributes to the varietal thiol (3MH and 3MHA) concentration and reductive sulphur compound concentration in South African Sauvignon blanc wine.

Read More

Moderate wine consumption – part of a balanced diet or a health risk?

Consumption of wine/alcoholic beverages remains a topic of great uncertainty and controversy worldwide. The term “no safe level” dominates the media communication and policy ever since population studies in 2018 [1,2] were published, which denied the existence of a J-curve and suggested that ANY consumption of an alcoholic beverage is harmful to health. The scientific evidence accumulated during the past decades about the health benefits of moderate wine consumption, were questioned and drinking guidelines considered to be too loose.

Read More