GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Forcing vine regrowth in Vitis vinifera cv. Touriga nacional at Douro region

Forcing vine regrowth in Vitis vinifera cv. Touriga nacional at Douro region

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Douro Region, characterized by a Mediterranean climate type and schist soils, is subjected to water and heat stresses conditions during summer. In some locations, the temperatures registered during berry maturation, lead to fruit ripen during warmer months, increasing the degradation of organic acids, tannins and phenolics that can negatively affect the quality of wines. Forcing vine regrowth is a new practice, being currently tested in Mediterranean countries, that aims to shift fruit ripening to cooler months of the year by pruning the plants after fruit set ‐ Crop Forcing (CF) ‐ removing all the leaves and bunches and leaving five buds per shoot, in order to reduce the negative effect of high temperatures during berry maturation on its quality.

Material and methods ‐ This work aims to study the effect of forcing vine regrowth in cv. ‘Touriga Nacional’ under Regulated Deficit Irrigation conditions, in vines irrigated with 30% of the evapotranspiration. Three modalities were established: vines with no forcing regrowth (Control ‐ CTRL), vines with CF set 15 days after fruit set (CF15) and plants with CF performed 30 days after fruit set (CF30). The effects on phenology, canopy development, berry development and fruit composition were assessed.

Results ‐ Plants subjected to CF15 were severely damaged after phenological stage of full bloom due to exceptional conditions to downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) infections, boosted by the new phenological stages due to crop forcing. On the other hand, the crop forcing modality CF30 registered a delay of nearly two months in all phenological stages, since fruit set until harvest. Shorter internodes (50%) and lower leaf area (35%) were observed in CF30 when compared to the CTRL plants at ripening stage. The number of shoots at fruit set was also significantly different between the three treatments, with higher values in CF modalities and lower values in CTRL plants. In terms of yield, comparing CF30 th th (harvested in November, 27 ) and CRTL (harvest in October, 6 ), it was found that CF reduced the number of bunches (39%), the number of berries per bunch and the average berry weight (60%). Moreover, berries from the forced crop modalities (from grapes) had a pH slightly lower (3.35), higher titratable acidity (8.82 g/L) and lower ˚Brix (17.02˚Brix) when compared to CRTL, with pH values of 3.74, titratable acidity of 4.16 g/L and Brix of 23.93˚. Despite these results, further study should be carried out to evaluate the long‐term effects of CF and its applicability depending on the climatic conditions for each year.

DOI:

Publication date: June 22, 2020

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Inês L. CABRAL (1), Anabela CARNEIRO (1), Joana VALENTE (2), Fernando ALVES (2), Frank S. ROGERSON (2), Artur MOREIRA (2), Pedro LEAL da COSTA (2), Susana M.P. CARVALHO (1), Jorge QUEIROZ (1)

(1) GreenUPorto & DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua da Agrária, 747, 4485-646 Vairão, Portugal
(2) Symington Family Estates, Travessa Barão de Forrester 86, 4431-901 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal 

Contact the author

Keywords

Douro region, crop forcing, grapevine, phenology, quality, yield

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Impacts on water availability for vitiviniculture worldwide using different potential evapotranspiration methods

Beyond the sole warming globally perceived and monitored, climate change impacts water availability. Increasing heatwaves frequency observed during the last decades

Use of pectinolytic yeast in wine fermentations

The use of pectinolytic enzymes in winemaking is state of the art. These enzymes catalyse the degradation of pectic substances through depolymerization (hydrolases and lyases) and de-esterification. As a result, it supports the extraction of juice and facilitates filtration. It has also been shown in winemaking that the presence of pectinolytic enzymes improves the stability, taste, texture, colour and aroma of products. With regard to enzymes currently applied in winemaking, enzymes derived from filamentous fungi dominate the enzyme industry. Fungal-based pectinolytic enzymes specifically require purification from the culture medium to eliminate unwanted side reactions, which is poorly sustainable. Some non-traditional yeast strains have been reported to exhibit pectinolytic activities. Therefore, the direct use of pectinolytic yeast during wine fermentation process can be an attractive and alternative source for the use of enzymes as input.

Effect of soil texture on early bud burst

Notre objectif est d’étudier de façon précise les relations entre la physiologie de la vigne et le sol, en prenant en compte l’effet millésime. Nous avons plus précisément étudier la précocité de débourrement de la vigne (stade D) en fonction de la texture du sol et plus particulièrement de la teneur en éléments grossiers.

Mechanization of pre-flowering leaf removal under the temperate-climate conditions of Switzerland

Grapevine leaf removal (LR) in the cluster area is typically done between fruit set and cluster closure to create an unfavorable microclimate for fungal diseases, such as Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew. Grape growers are now turning their attention to pre-flowering LR, which has additional benefits under certain conditions. When applied before flowering, LR strongly affects fruit set and thus the number of berries per cluster. It is therefore a good yield control tool, replacing time-consuming manual cluster thinning (Poni et al. 2006). It also improves berry structure, that is, skin thickness, skin-to-pulp ratio, and berry composition (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and polyphenols) (Palliotti et al. 2012; Komm and Moyer 2015). By exacerbating competition for assimilates between reproductive and vegetative organs, pre-flowering LR also poses some risks. Excessive yield loss at the same year’s harvest due to a too low fruit set rate is the main concern: intensive pre-flowering LR (100% of the cluster area) can induce up to 50% yield loss in potted vines (Poni et al. 2005). Other parameters, such as cool climatic conditions during flowering, also affect fruit set rate and make it difficult to predict potential yield at harvest. Repeated and overly intensive preflowering LR can have repercussions over time and induce a decline in bud fruiting and plant vigor (Risco et al. 2014).

Caratterizzazione vitivinicola delle “Terre del Piacenziano” ricomprese nella zona D.O.C. “colli piacentini” attraverso l’analisi sensoriale dei vini prodotti

I territori della Riserva Geologica del Piacenziano sono parte del pedeappennino piacentino e sono noti per essere la culla del Pliocene, quel periodo di storia della Terra compreso tra 5.3 e 1.8 milioni di anni fa. Gli strati argillosi e sabbiosi riccamente fossiliferi qui presenti sono da sempre oggetto di studi geo-paleontologici tant’è che il Pliocene medio (3.6-2.6 milioni di anni fa) è internazionalmente noto come Piacenziano. Le analisi sensoriali strutturate dei vini qui prodotti hanno evidenziato, soprattutto per il vino Monterosso, le positive peculiarità dei loro caratteri sensoriali e descritto gli scostamenti significativi del loro profilo sensoriale rispetto agli altri vini presi a riferimento.