GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Nitrogen requirements of table grape cultivars grown in the san Joaquin valley of California

Nitrogen requirements of table grape cultivars grown in the san Joaquin valley of California

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Ground water in the interior valleys of California is contaminated with nitrates derived from agricultural activities, primarily the over-fertilization of crops. Agriculture is now mandated by the State of California to monitor all possible nitrogen (N) inputs into agro‐ecosystems and only apply N amounts that meet a crop’s demand. The best estimate of N required for the current season’s growth of shoots and fruit in raisin, table and wine grape vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley is approximately 70 to 80 kg N ha‐1 (values derived from Thompson Seedless and several wine grape cultivars). The table grape industry continues to develop new cultivars and replanting vineyards using open‐gable trellis systems which will produce greater vegetative biomass and fruit yields. One objective of this study was to determine the N budget of several established and newer table grape cultivars trained to overhead trellises, grown in the San Joaquin Valley.

Materials and Methods – Flame Seedless, Scarlet Royal, Crimson Seedless, Princess, Sheegene‐21 and Autumn King grapevines grown at eight commercial vineyards within 30 km of the KARE Center were used in the study. N fertilizer was applied in three of the vineyards, the amount being that removed in the fruit at harvest and twice that. The control vines received no applied N. Petioles were collected at bloom and veraison to assess vine N status. Shoots and clusters were removed from data vines in each vineyard at bloom, veraison and fruit harvest, biomass and N concentrations determined and N budgets developed in each vineyard.

Results ‐ Petiole nitrate‐N at bloom and veraison were significantly correlated with petiole ammonia‐N and total N measured at the same stage and total N in the leaves, stems and fruit at bloom, veraison and harvest. Values of petiole nitrate‐N below 200 ppm (dry weight basis) at bloom in the current season resulted in fewer clusters produced by the vines the following year. Yield of Flame Seedless, Scarlet Royal and Crimson Seedless averaged across treatments and years was 55, 67 and 53 t/ha, respectively. The amount of N per ton of fruit ranged from 0.98 to 1.85 kg. The amount of N accumulated by vines at harvest in the leaves, stems and clusters ranged from 131 to 210 kg/ha. The amount of N in the fruit (kg/t) was dependent upon location and somewhat correlated with petiole analyses at bloom and veraison.The amount of N to produce a crop was a function of location, row spacing and supply of N from the irrigation water and soil profile. The N required by the vines in these table grape vineyards were much greater than earlier estimates.

DOI:

Publication date: June 22, 2020

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Larry E. WILLIAMS and Matthew FEDELIBUS

Department of Viticulture and Enology University of California – Davis and
Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension (KARE) Center 9240 S. Riverbend Avenue
Parlier, CA 93648

Contact the author

Keywords

 table grapes, N nutrition, N budget

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Hemisynthesis, NMR Characterization and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap /MS² identification of (+)-Catechin oxidation products in red wines and grape seed extracts

(+)-Catechin—laccase oxidation dimeric standards were hemi-synthesized using laccase from Trametes versicolor in a water-ethanol solution at pH 3.6.

Ozone treatment: a solution to improve sanitary and physiological quality of vine plant

The vineyard world is faced to a lot of fungal diseases. Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTD) are some of the major. After exhibiting chronical foliar symptoms, grapevines can die by apoplexy within only few days. A range species of fungi was described to be associated with the apparition of early symptoms of GTD. It is well known that ozone dissolved into water is a powerful disinfectant with no remanence. The main goal of this study was to test the efficiency of this process on different fungal species associated with GTD in vitro and in planta conditions.

Impact of elemental sulfur (S0) residues in Sauvignon blanc juice on the formation of the varietal thiols 3-mercapto hexanol and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate

Elemental sulfur is a fungicide used by grape growers to control the development of powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Erysiphe necator. This compound is effective, cheap and has a low toxicity with no withholding period recommended. However, high levels of S0 residues in the harvested grapes can lead to the formation of reductive sulfur compounds that can impart taints and faults to the wine. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a very volatile and unpleasant sulfur compound which formation is connected to high residues of S0 in juice (10 – 100 mg/L).

Impact of climate variability and change on grape yield in Italy

Viticulture is entangled with weather and climate. Therefore, areas currently suitable for grape production can be challenged by climate change. Winegrowers in Italy already experiences the effect of climate change, especially in the form of warmer growing season, more frequent drought periods, and increased frequency of weather extremes.
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of climate variability and change on grape yield in Italy to provide winegrowers the information needed to make their business more sustainable and resilient to climate change. We computed a specific range of bioclimatic indices, selected by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), and correlated them to grape yield data. We have worked in collaboration with some wine consortiums in northern and central Italy, which provided grape yield data for our analysis.
Using climate variables from the E-OBS dataset we investigate how the bioclimatic indices changed in the past, and the impact of this change on grape productivity in the study areas. The climate impact on productivity is also investigated by using high-resolution convection-permitting models (CPMs – 2.2 horizontal resolution), with the purpose of estimating productivity in future emission scenarios. The CPMs are likely the best available option for this kind of impact studies since they allow a better representation of small-scale processes and features, explicitly resolve deep convection, and show an improved representation of extremes. In our study, we also compare CPMs with regional climate models (RCMs – 12 km horizontal resolution) to assess the added value of high-resolution models for impact studies. Further development of our study will lead to assessing the future suitability for vine cultivation and could lead to the construction of a statistical model for future projection of grape yield.

Analysis of voltammetric fingerprints of different white grape musts reveals genotype-related oxidation patterns

Must oxidation is a complex process involving multiple enzymatic transformations, including the oxidation of phenolics containing an ortho-diphenol function. The latter process has a primary influence on wine aroma characteristics and stability, due to the central role of ortho-diphenols in the non-enzymatic oxidative reactions taking place during winemaking and in finished wine. Although oxidation of must is traditionally avoided, in recent years its contribution to wine quality has been revisited, and in some cases improvements to wine aroma have been observed with the application of controlled must oxidation. Nowadays there is a great interest in the wine industry towards the identification of specific markers or patterns to characterize and classify the response of grape must to oxidation.