GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Sustainable viticulture’ the “semi‐minimal” pruned “hedge” system for grape vines long term experience on cv. Sangiovese (Vitis vinifera L.)

Sustainable viticulture’ the “semi‐minimal” pruned “hedge” system for grape vines long term experience on cv. Sangiovese (Vitis vinifera L.)

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ In previous experiments carried out in Bologna on Sangiovese grapevines raised with the Australian “Minimal Pruning” system, it has been shown that this system left an excessive burden of buds on the vine (650/meter of row) and inhibited the plant from correctly activating its physiologic self‐regulating mechanisms, thus causing alternancy and drops in the sugar content. However, “Minimal Pruning” also reduced labor time and resulted in loose grape bunches on the vine, which are less prone to fungal diseases. Considering the importance of these last results, the University of Bologna has experimented with a cultivation method based on the Australian technique, but modified so as to reduce the bud load and regulate production without losing the advantages of low cost and healthier grapes. The new system, trained to a “Hedge” form with “Semi‐Minimal” mechanical pruning, has been tested on Sangiovese grapevines since 1990 and has undergone important structural modifications, which might also make it suitable for other grape varieties.

Material and methods ‐ The initial research on the Sangiovese grapevine trained as a Hedge compared it to the classic Spur‐Pruned Cordon (SPC). The Hedge productive surface was 1.2 meters tall and was managed with mechanical “Semi‐Minimal” pruning (400 buds/m of row, i.e. 40% less than Australian “Minimal Pruning”), while the classic SPC was managed with traditional manual pruning (18‐buds/meter of row). Between 2000 and 2008, the main growth, production and quality characteristics of SPC and Hedge were identified and an assessment was made of the likelihood of shoot density in the lower areas of the Hedge (as already mentioned, 1.2 m tall) to verify the acrotony effect.Moreover from 2013 to 2018 a second model of Hedge, 0.8 m tall (“Shorter Hedge”) was used on Sangiovese grapevines (235 buds/meter of row, i.e. 65% less than Australian “Minimal Pruning”). For the “Shorter Hedge” the principal 2013‐2018 behavioral parameters were identified and the spatial distribution of shoots and bunches along the productive Hedge wall was also verified.

Results ‐ The results of the first investigation (2000‐2008) showed that in respect to the SPC (18‐buds/m), the 1.2 m tall Hedge (400 buds/m) gave rise to a larger crop of similar quality to that of the SPC, with a greater number of bunches that were smaller, looser and completely free from botrytis. Nevertheless, in the lower part of the 1.2 m tall Hedge, a small drop in the number of shoots produced was observed after few years.In the second investigation, carried out between 2013 and 2018 on the Sangiovese “Shorter Hedge”, with a 0.8 m tall productive surface (235 buds/m), the data confirmed that the lesser height of the yield wall and the relate lower bud number improved the self‐regulation and equilibrium of the vines, markedly reducing the annual variability of the different grape parameters. Overall, the vines always produced quantitatively and qualitatively to satisfaction, with many small bunches free from rot. During the trial, a decreasing of shoot and cluster density was not observed in the lower parts of the 0.8 m tall Hedge.Today, after almost 20 years of research, the Hedge system has shown itself to be capable of being practically applied to other grape varieties thanks to its reduced management costs, complete adaptability to integrated mechanization and the positive results regarding the yield and grape quality.

DOI:

Publication date: June 22, 2020

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Cesare INTRIERI, Ilaria FILIPPETTI, Gianluca ALLEGRO, Gabriele VALENTINI, Chiara PASTORE, Emilia COLUCCI

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agroalimentari- Università di Bologna

Contact the author

Keywords

Grapevine, Training System, Self-regulation, Mechanization, Semi-Minimal pruning

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Pruned vine biomass exclusion from a clay loam vineyard soil – examining the impact on physical/chemical properties

The wine industry worldwide faces increasing challenges to achieve sustainable levels of carbon emission mitigation. This project seeks to establish the feasibility of harvesting winter pruned vineyard biomass (PVB) for potential use in carbon footprint reduction, through its use as a renewable biofuel for energy production. In order to make this recommendation, technical issues such as the potential environmental impact, chemical composition and fuel suitability, and logistical challenges of harvesting biomass needs to be understood to compare with the results from similar studies. Of particular interest is the role PVB plays as a carbon source in vineyard soils and what effect annual removal might have on soil carbon sequestration. A preliminary trial was established in the Waite Campus vineyard (University of Adelaide) to test current management strategies. Vines are grown in a Eutrophic, Red Dermosol clay loam soil with well managed midrow swards. A comparison was undertaken of mid-row treatments in two 0.25 Ha blocks (Shiraz and Semillon), including annual cultivation for seed bed preparation, the deliberate exclusion of PVB (25 years) and incorporation of PVB (13 years) at an average of 3.4 and 5.5 Mg/Ha-1 for Shiraz and Semillon respectively. In both 0-10cm and 10-30cm soil core sample depths, combined soil carbon % measures in the desired range of 1.80 to 3.50, were not significantly different between treatments or cultivars and yielded an estimated 42 Mg/ha-1 of sequestered soil carbon. Other key physical and chemical measures were likewise not significantly different between treatments. Preliminary results suggest that in a temperate zone vineyard, managed such as the one used in this study, there is no long term negative impact on soil carbon sequestration through removing PVB. This implies that growers could confidently harvest PVB for use in several end fates including as a bio fuel.

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Mesoclimate impact on Tannat in the Atlantic terroir of Uruguay

The study of climate is relevant as an element conditioning the typicity of a product, its quality and sustainability over the years. The grapevine development and growth and the final grape and wine composition are closely related to temperature, while climate components vary at mesoscale according to topography and/or proximity to large bodies of water. The objective of this work is to assess the mesoclimate of the Atlantic region of Uruguay and to determine the effect of topography and the ocean on temperature and consequently on Tannat grapevine behavior.

Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

The research includes an analysis of the impact of weather conditions on phenological development of the vine and grape quality, through monitoring of four experimental cultivars (Chardonnay, Graševina, Merlot and Plavac mali) over two production years. In each experimental vineyard, which were evenly distributed throughout the regions of Slavonia and The Croatian Danube, Croatian Uplands,

Metabolomic discrimination of grapevine water status for Chardonnay and Pinot noir

Water status impact in viticulture has been widely explored, as it strongly affects grapevine physiology and grape chemical composition. It is considered as a key component of vitivinicultural terroir. Most of the studies concerning grapevine water status have focused on either physiological traits, or berry compounds, or traits involved in wine quality. Here, the response of grapevine to water availability during the ripening period is assessed through non-targeted metabolomics analysis of grape berries by ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. The grapevine water status has been assessed during 2 consecutive years (2019 & 2020), through carbon isotope discrimination on juices from berries collected at maturity (21.5 brix approx.) for 2 Vitis vinifera cv. Pinot noir (PN) and Chardonnay (CH). A total of 220 grape juices were collected from 5 countries worldwide (Italy; Argentina; France; Germany; Portugal). Measured δ13C (‰) varied from -28.73 to -22.6 for PN, and from -28.79 to -21.67 for CH. These results also clearly revealed higher water stress for the 2020 vintage. The same grape juices have been analysed by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (LC-qTOF-MS), leading to the detection of up to 4500 CHONS containing elemental compositions, and thus likely tens of thousands of individual compounds, which include fatty acids, organic acids, peptides, phenolics, also with high levels of glycosylation. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that up to 160 elemental compositions, covering the whole range of detected masses (100 –1000 m/z), were significantly correlated to the observed gradients of water status. Examples of chemical markers, which are representative of these complex fingerprints, include various derivatives of the known abscisic acid (ABA), such as phaesic acid or abscisic acid glucose ester, which are significantly correlated with higher water stress, regardless of the variety. Cultivar-specific behaviours could also be identified from these fingerprints. Our results provide an unprecedented representation of the metabolic diversity, which is involved in the water status regulation at the grape level, and which could contribute to a better knowledge of the grapevine mitigation strategy in a climate change context.