Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Variability of Tempranillo phenology within the toro do (Spain) and its relationship to climatic characteristics

Variability of Tempranillo phenology within the toro do (Spain) and its relationship to climatic characteristics

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this research was to analyse the spatial and temporal variability of vine phenology of the Tempranillo variety in the Toro Designation of Origen (DO) related to climatic conditions at present and under future climate change scenarios.

Methods and Results: Seven plots planted with Tempranillo, distributed throughout the DO, and located at elevations between 630 and 790 m a.s.l were considered in this analysis. Phenological dates referred to bud break, bloom, veraison and maturity recorded in each plot for the period 2005-2019 were analysed. The information was supplied by the Consejo Regulador of Toro Designation of Origin (Toro DO). The weather conditions recorded during the period under study were analysed using data recorded in Toro. The thermal requirements to reach each phenological stage were evaluated and expressed as the GDD accumulated from DOY=90, which were considered to predict the changes under future climatic conditions. For future climatic conditions, temperature and precipitation predicted by 2050 and 2070 under two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios –RCP4.5 and RCP8.5-, based on an ensemble of models, were used to predict the changes in phenology.

During the analysed period, the dates at which the different phenological stages were reached presented high variability, with bud break between April 5th and May 7th; bloom between May 3rd and July 14th, veraison between July 20th and August 21st and maturity between September 1st and October 2nd. The earliest dates were observed in the hottest year (e.g. 2017), while the latest dates were recorded in the coolest and wettest years (eg. 2008, 2013 or 2018). Water deficits also gave rise to advances in phenological timing (e.g. 2009, 2015), which affect more the later than the earlier phenological states. Water deficit in the BL-V period had a significant effect on veraison, while in general the maturity was also affected by water existing in the BB-BL period. Some spatial variability was observed in the phenological dates, although the trend was not uniform for all the stages or for all years. Taking into account the thermal requirements to reach each stage and the predictions under future climate scenarios, advances in all phenological dates were projected, higher for the later than for the earlier stages, which may be of up 6 and 8 days for bud break, 7-10 days for bloom, 8 to 11 days for veraison, and 12 to 19 days for maturity by 2050, respectively under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios.

Conclusion: 

Based on the climate change projections, the Tempranillo variety cultivated in Toro DO may suffer an advance of all phenological stages, having harvest earlier and under warmer conditions, which could also affect grape composition.

Significance and Impact of the Study: Tempranillo is the third most cultivated wine variety in the world, being 88% of it cultivated in Spain, and in the Toro DO the main variety (“Tinta de Toro”) covering about 5100 ha. Thus, the knowledge of the vine response under future conditions could be a tool to adopt measurements to mitigate the effects of climate change in the area.

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Daniël T.H.C. Go1, Santiago Castro, María Concepción Ramos1*

1Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio, Spain
2Consejo Regulador DO Toro, Toro, Zamora, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

Climatic change, phenological dates, spatial and temporal variability, temperature, Toro DO, water deficit

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Upscaling the integrated terroir zoning through digital soil mapping: a case study in the Designation of Origin Campo de Borja

homogeneous zones by intersecting several partial zonings of major factors that influence vineyard growth. Each of them follows specific process from their corresponding disciplines. Soil zoning specifically refers to a Soil Resource Inventory map that has traditionally been generated by conventional soil mapping methods. These methods have shortcomings in reaching fine cartographic and categorical details and involve significant expenses, which undermines their applicability. A new framework named Digital Soil Mapping has introduced quantitative models by statistical techniques to establish soil-landscape relationships and is able to provide intensive scale cartography.

In the present study, a microzoning at 1:10.000 scale is generated from an initial zoning, where the conventional soil map with polytaxic map units is replaced by a new one from digital techniques that disaggregates them. The comparison between the zonings considers a quantitative evaluation of capability for each Homogeneous Terroir Unit by means of the Viticultural Quality Index and its categorization based on its distribution by map. The spatial intersection of both maps gives rise to a confusion matrix in which the flows of class variations after the substitution are assessed.

The results show a five-fold increase in the number of Homogeneous Terroir Units identified and a larger differentiation among them, evidenced by a wider range in the capability index distribution. Both elements are accompanied by an increase in the detection of areas of higher potential within previously undervalued uniform zones.These features are a direct effect of the improvements brought by Digital Soil Mapping techniques and would verify the advantages of their implementation in the Integrated Terroir zoning. Eventually, such new highly detailed terroir units would benefit precision viticulture and sustainable management practices.

Impact of long term agroecological and conventional practices on subsurface soil microbiota in Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards

There is a growing trend on the transition from conventional to agroecological management of vineyards. However, the impact of practices, such as reduced-tillage, organic fertilization and cover crops, is not well-understood regarding the soil microbial diversity, and its relationship with the soil physicochemical properties in the subsurface depth near the rooting zone. Soil bacterial diversity is an important contributor towards plant health, productivity and response to environmental stresses. A field experiment was conducted by sampling subsurface soil bacterial community (NGS and qPCR) near to the root zone of Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards, located at the Penedes. 3 organic (ECO) and 3 conventional (CON) vineyards, with more than 10 years of respective management were sampled (n=5 each plot). ECO practices did not affect bacterial and fungal abundance but increased significantly the ammonium oxidizing bacteria and alpha-diversity (Inv.Simpson). Interestingly beta-diversity was significantly affected by the management strategy. ANOSIM-tests revealed a significative effect of the management (ecological vs conventional) and plot, on the soil microbial structure (ASV abundance). Main phyla depicted were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, whose relative abundances were not affected by the management. EdgeR assay revealed a significant increase of Cyanobacteria and decrease of Gemmatimonadetes and Firmicutes phyla in ECO. Interestingly, the grapevine variety was not correlated with the soil microbial community structure. Mantel-test revealed an important correlation (Spearman) of some physicochemical parameters with the soil microbiota structure, in order of importance: texture, EC, pH Ca/Mg, Mg/P, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, SO42-, and OM. N-NH4 and NTK, which were higher in the ECO managed soils, did not correlated significantly with the soil microbiome population. The results revealed the importance of combining a deep physicochemical characterization of each replicate with the microbial diversity assessment to gain better insights on the relationship between soil microbiome and vineyard management.

What are the optimal ranges and thresholds for berry solar radiation for flavonoid biosynthesis?

In wine grape production, canopy management practices are applied to control the source-sink balance and improve the cluster microclimate to enhance berry composition. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal ranges of berry solar radiation exposure (exposure) for upregulation of flavonoid biosynthesis and thresholds for their degradation, to evaluate how canopy management practices such as leaf removal, shoot thinning, and a combination of both affect the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) yield components, berry composition, and flavonoid profile under context of climate change. First experiment assessed changes in the grape flavonoid content driven by four degrees of exposure. In the second experiment, individual grape berries subjected to different exposures were collected from two cultivars (Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot). The third experiment consisted of an experiment with three canopy management treatments (i) LR (removal of 5 to 6 basal leaves), (ii) ST (thinned to 24 shoots per vine), and (iii) LRST (a combination of LR and ST) and an untreated control (UNT). Berry composition, flavonoid content and profiles, and 3-isobutyl 2-methoxypyrazine were monitored during berry ripening. Although increasing canopy porosity through canopy management practices can be helpful for other purposes, this may not be the case of flavonoid compounds when a certain proportion of kaempferol was achieved. Our results revealed different sensitivities to degradation within the flavonoid groups, flavonols being the only monitored group that was upregulated by solar radiation. Within different canopy management practices, the main effects were due to the ST. Under environmental conditions given in this trial, ST and LRST hastened fruit maturity; however, a clear improvement of the flavonoid compounds (i.e., greater anthocyanin) was not observed at harvest. Methoxypyrazine berry content decreased with canopy management practices studied. Although some berry traits were improved (i.e. 2.5° Brix increase in berry total soluble solids) due to canopy management practices (ST), this resulted in a four-fold increase in labor operations cost, two-fold decrease in yield with a 10-fold increase in anthocyanin production cost per hectare that should be assessed together as the climate continues to get hot.

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"...

Mapping and tracking canopy size with VitiCanopy

Understanding vineyard variability to target management strategies, apply inputs efficiently and deliver consistent grape quality to the winery is essential. However, despite inherent vineyard variability, the majority are managed as if they are uniform. VitiCanopy is a simple, grower-friendly tool for precision/digital viticulture that allows users to collect and interpret objective spatial information about vineyard performance. After four years of field and market research, an upgraded VitiCanopy has been created to achieve a more streamlined, technology-assisted vine monitoring tool that provides users with a set of superior new features, which could significantly improve the way users monitor their grapevines. These new features include:
• New user interface
• User authentication
• Batch analysis of multiple images
• Ease the learning curve through enhanced help features
• Reporting via the creation of colour maps that will allow users to assess the spatial differences in canopies within a vineyard.
Use-case examples are presented to demonstrate the quantification and mapping of vineyard variability through objective canopy measurements, ground-truthing of remotely sensed measurements, monitoring of crop conditions, implementation of disease and water management decisions as well as creating a history of each site to forecast quality. This intelligent tool allows users to manage grapevines and make informed management choices to achieve the desired production targets and remain profitable.