Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The pedoclimatic conditions impact the yeast assimilable nitrogen concentration in the grapevine must and the valorisation of foliarnitrogen fertilisation

The pedoclimatic conditions impact the yeast assimilable nitrogen concentration in the grapevine must and the valorisation of foliarnitrogen fertilisation

Abstract

Aims: Agroscope investigated the efficiency of nitrogen fertilisation via foliar urea application at veraison with the aim of raising the yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) concentration in the musts. The observations were conducted over three vintages on two grapevine cultivars in several pedoclimatic conditions of the Leman wine region, Switzerland. Knowing that the YAN in the must plays a key role in wine quality, the aim of this study was finding the main parameters affecting the final YAN level in order to better control them.

Methods and results: Five plots of Doral (white grape, Chasselas x Chardonnay) and five plots of Gamaret (red grape, Gamay x Reichensteiner) were chosen over 80 km of vineyards. Pedologic profiles were realised. Vegetal materials, date of plantation and cultivation practices were kept constant for comparison purposes. Each plot was divided in two treatments of 60 vines each: a control treatment and a nitrogen fertilized treatment (20 kg N/ha as foliar urea applied at veraison). Phenological development, nitrogen status and grape maturation of vines were monitored. 50 kg of grapes from each treatment were harvested and then vinified separately using a standard protocol. YAN levels in musts were significantly enhanced by foliar-nitrogen fertilisation, but strong vintage, site and cultivar effects were pointed out: average YAN gain over 3 years was 69 ± 32 mg N/L in Doral must and 52 ± 27 mg N/L in Gamaret must. Some sites consistently presented higher gains (e.g. Doral at Villeneuve, +106 mg N/L). The bigger water holding capacity and the deeper effective root zone seemed to mainly enhance vine nitrogen status. No correlation could be established between initial leaf N content and the variation of YAN gain. YAN in must was the parameter that best explained the positive variations in wine sensory characteristics and, in the case of Doral only, was highly correlated to the overall appreciation of the wines (R2 = 0.70).

Significance and impact of the study: This work confirms that YAN level in must, in relation to climate and soil characteristics, contributes to the terroir effect on the wine quality. YAN concentration is clearly influenced by pedoclimatic conditions and cultivar. The impact of foliar-N supply is not always sufficient for a significant improvement of wine overall appreciation particularly for the cv. Gamaret. This observations may assist the development of sustainable practices to increase the YAN concentration in musts.

DOI:

Publication date: June 23, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Thibaut VERDENAL (1), Vivian ZUFFEREY (1), Stéphane BURGOS (2), Johannes RÖSTI (1), Fabrice LORENZINI (3), Agnès DIENES-NAGY (3), Jorge SPANGENBERG (4), Katia GINDRO (1), Jean-Laurent SPRING (1) and Olivier VIRET (1)

(1) Institute for Plant Production Sciences, Agroscope, 1009 Pully, Switzerland
(2) Changins, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
(3) Institute for Food Sciences, Agroscope, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
(4) Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, yeast assimilable nitrogen YAN, leaf urea fertilisation, wine quality, terroir

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Organic recycled mulches in sustainable viticulture: assessment of spontaneous plants communities and weed coverage

In recent years, developing more efficient and sustainable viticulture management has been essential due to the impact of climate change in semiarid regions. For this reason, the use of recycled organic mulching (ROM) in the vineyard has become an interesting strategy to cope with water stress, isolated soil from extreme temperatures and improving soil humidity, control the presence of weeds and therefore reduce the inputs of herbicides and improve soil fertility. This work aimed to analyse the effect of three different organic mulches [straw (S), grape pruning debris (GPD) and spent mushroom compost (SMC)] and two traditional soil management techniques [herbicide (H) and interrow (IN)] on weed coverage and the spontaneous plant communities’ presence. Data sampling was collected throughout the vine vegetative cycle of 2021 in La Rioja, Spain. The different soil management techniques had a clear effect on weed coverage and his development during the vine vegetative cycle. SMC and H were the treatments with the highest and the lowest coverage percentage, respectively. IN had a delayed weed emergence at the beginning of the vine vegetative cycle, but finally it reached maximum values nearby SMC. GPD and S had similar effects on weed emergence, reaching 25-30% of the maximum coverage values. A total of 29 herbaceous species were identified during the vegetative cycle, some of them very isolated and occasional. Principal component analysis (PCAs) showed a good association between spontaneous species and treatments, furthermore, specific species-treatment associations were found. Moreover, three clear groups of herbaceous communities were identified by cluster analysis. This study provides interesting information about the effect of different alternative soil management on herbaceous plant coverage and weed species communities which could contribute to making more sustainable viticulture.

Rootstock regulation of scion phenotypes: the relationship between rootstock parentage and petiole mineral concentration

Grapevine is grown as a graft since the end of the 19th century. Rootstocks not only provide tolerance to Phylloxera but also ensure the supply of water and mineral nutrients to the scion. Rootstocks are an important mean of adaptation to environmental conditions, because the scion controls the typical features of the grapes and wine. However, among the large diversity of rootstocks worldwide, few of them are commercially used in the vineyard. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which rootstocks modify the mineral composition of the petioles of the scion. Vitis vinifera cvs. Cabernet-Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Syrah and Ugni blanc were grafted onto 55 different rootstock genotypes and planted in a vineyard as three replicates of 5 vines. Petioles were collected in the cluster zone with 6 replicates per combination. Petiolar concentrations of 13 mineral elements (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, Na, B, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Al) at veraison were determined. Scion, rootstock and the interaction explained the same proportion of the phenotypic variance for most mineral elements. Rootstock genotype showed a significant influence on the petiole mineral element composition. Rootstock effect explained from 7 % for Cu to 25 % for S of the variance. The difference of rootstock conferred mineral status is discussed in relation to vigor and fertility. Rootstocks were also genotyped with 23 microsatellite markers. Data were analysed according to genetic groups in order to determine whether the petiole mineral composition could be related to the genetic parentage of the rootstock. Thanks to a highly powerful design, it is the first time that such a large panel of rootstocks grafted with 4 scions has been studied. These results give the opportunity to better characterize the rootstocks and to enlarge the diversity used in the vineyard.

Exploring resilience and competitiveness of wine estates in Languedoc-Roussillon in the recent past: a multi-level perspective

The Languedoc-Roussillon wineries are facing a decline in wine yields particularly PGI yields due to many factors. Climate change is just ones, but is expected to increase in the future. There is also structurally a large heterogeneity of yield profiles among terroirs, varieties and strategies. This work investigates the link between yield, competitiveness and resilience to explore how resilient winegrowers have been in the recent past. To this end two approaches have been combined; (i) an accountancy database analysis at estate scale and (ii) municipality level competitiveness analysis. A new resilience indicator that characterizes the capacity of an estate to absorb yield variation is also defined. The FADN database between 2000 and 2018 of ex-Languedoc-Roussillon (France) and other data are used to analyse the current situation and the past evolution of competitiveness and resilience by type of estate (type of farm: PGI and/or PDO & type of commercialization: bulk and/or bottles). The net margin, which defines competitiveness, is not correlated to yield for all types but depends on the type of commercialization and the level of specialisation. The resilience indicator shows that the net margin of estates specialized in PGI is particularly sensitive to yield declines. We also show that price evolutions seem to compensate the effect of yield losses for the majority of types. Municipality scale analysis shows the links between local pedoclimate, yield, commercialization strategies and price. Overlapping a PDO with a PGI does not always increase a municipality’s PGI competitiveness. It is difficult to make links between causes and effects due to the complexity of the wine production system. Production diversification may be a solution. Resorting to the two level of analysis helps resolving the data gap that is necessary to explore the links between yield and economic performance of the wine estates in the long term.

Short-term relationships between climate and grapevine trunk diseases in southern French vineyards

[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"...

Impact of climate change on the viticultural climate of the Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (SE Spain)

Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (PDO Jumilla) is located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete and Murcia, in the South-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, where most of the models predict a severe impact of climate change in next decades. PDO Jumilla covers an area of 247,054 hectares, of which more than 22,000 hectares