Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The dynamics of δ13C and δ18O in musts during berries development

The dynamics of δ13C and δ18O in musts during berries development

Abstract

Aim: Many processes or reactions that occur in plants involved isotopic discrimination. Water availability, for example, affects the isotopic ratio of carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O). In viticulture, δ13C is used in experiments related to water relations and irrigation in vineyards. δ18O is used much less but it could be a good complement to δ13C. The aim of this study was to generate knowledge on how these isotopic ratios, measured in musts, could help to better understand the water behavior of grape varieties. 

Methods and Results: The present work was carried out in 2019 with a set of seven varieties selected to monitor the aforementioned ratios in musts obtained during berries development: three of them red (Bobal, Tinto Velasco and Syrah), managed with irrigation, and the other three white (Airén, Malvar and Albillo Real) kept without irrigation; the seventh, Tempranillo, was managed with or without irrigation. 

Monitoring the dynamics of isotope ratios was undertaken through sampling of grapes carried out periodically, from shortly before closing cluster to maturity. In obtained musts, δ13C and δ18O were determined by mass spectrometry of isotope ratios.

The small changes observed between samples in δ13C in a specific variety did not seem to follow any pattern. In most cases, the comparisons of means performed showed no significant differences between samples. However, differences were observed between the two management systems: irrigated and rainfed; in dry conditions, with the stomatal closure, 13C isotopic discrimination declined during photosynthesis, and the ratio then increased.

This was not so with δ18O, where the comparisons of means always showed significant differences between samples. Dynamics of δ18O seemed to adapt, in this case, to a double curve pattern (cubic polynomial): the intense increase in the ratio of the first stages of fruit development was followed by a phase of slight decline, which lasted up to 15 or 20 days before harvest, at which point the ratio increased again. There were both inter-varietal and between management system differences: musts in early harvest varieties showed higher δ18O values than late varieties, while the isotopic enrichment was lower for this isotopic ratio in irrigated vines.

Conclusions:

Differences in the narrow margin in which δ13C values of the grapes are maintained throughout their development seemed to respond more to the crop management practice than to the variety. However, the notable changes in δ18O values seem to be due to a complex mechanism that involves the discharge of water in the grapes from the phloem at beginning of ripening and the loss of water due to transpiration through the skin.

Significance and Impact of the Study: In the search for the genotypes with the highest water efficiency that effectively respond to the proliferation and dilation of drought periods that are expected in many regions, it is urgent to explore the existing genetic variability. In this sense, δ13C and δ18O could be useful tools to take into account in any research related to water use by cultivars at physiological or agronomic levels.

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Adelaida Mena Morales*, Juan Luis Chacón Vozmediano, Rosa Mª Sánchez-Gil Jimeno, Jesús Martínez Gascueña

Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal de Castilla-La Mancha (IRIAF), IVICAM, Ctra. Toledo-Albacete s/n, 13700 Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

Grapevine, genotypes, musts, δ13C dynamics, δ18O dynamics, IRMS

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Leaf vine content in nutrients and trace elements in La Mancha (Spain) soils: influence of the rootstock

The use of rootstock of American origin has been the classic method of fighting against Phylloxera for more than 100 years. For this reason, it is interesting to establish if different rootstock modifies nutrient composition as well as trace elements content that could be important for determining the traceability of the vine products. A survey of four classic rootstocks (110-Richter, SO4, FERCAL and 1103-Paulsen) and four new ones (M1, M2, M3 and M4) provided by Agromillora Iberia. S.L.U., all of them grafted with the Tempranillo variety, has been carried out during 2019. The eight rootstocks were planted in pots of 500 cc, on three soils with very different characteristics from Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). In the month of July, the leaves were collected and dried in a forced air oven for seven days at 40ºC. Then, the samples were prepared for the analysis determination, carried out by X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry. The results obtained showed that in the case of content in mineral elements in leaf, separated by soil type, we can report the importance of few elements such as Si, Fe, Pb and, especially, Sr. The rootstock does not influence the composition of the vine leaf for the studied elements that are the most important in determining the geochemical footprint of the soil. The influence of the soil can be discriminated according to some elements such as Fe, Pb, Si and, especially, Sr.

The use of rootstock as a lever in the face of climate change and dieback of vineyard

As viticulture faces challenges such as climate change or vineyard dieback, the choice of the variety and rootstock becomes more and more crucial. To study rootstock levers in the Bordeaux region, a parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) was planted with four rootstocks in 2014. Twenty repetitions of each of the following four rootstocks were set up: 101-14 MGt, Nemadex AB, 420A MGt and Gravesac. The number of bunches, yields and pruning weights of the vine shoots were measured individually on 240 vines from 2017 to 2021. Since 2020, nitrogen status assessed by assimilable nitrogen level, hydric status assessed by δ13C and berry maturity were measured on 80 samples taken from 20 repetitions of the four rootstocks. A lower yield was measured for CS grafted onto Nemadex AB due to the lower number of bunches and the lower weight of berries. The differences between the other three rootstocks are small, but CS grafted onto 420A MGt was the most productive. The CS grafted onto Nemadex AB had the lowest pruning weight while 101-14 MGt had the highest. In 2020, δ13C showed a more moderate water stress with 101-14 MGt and 420A MGt than with Nemadex AB. Surprisingly, the Gravesac was under more stress than the 101-14 MGt. The nitrogen status in the berries was better for Nemadex AB but this was perhaps due to the significantly lower weight of the berries.Rootstock 101-14 MGt attained the highest accumulation of sugars in the berries while 420A MGt allows to preserve higher acidity. The parcel is still young which may explain some of the results. These measures must therefore be continued over the next several years to fully assess the effects of these rootstocks on the development of the vines and the quality of the production under new climatic conditions.

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.

Adaptability of grapevines to climate change: characterization of phenology and sugar accumulation of 50 varieties, under hot climate conditions

Climate is the major factor influencing the dynamics of the vegetative cycle and can determine the timing of phenological periods. Knowledge of the phenology of varieties, their chronological duration, and thermal requirements, allows not only for the better management of interventions in the vineyard, but also to predict the varieties’ behaviour in a scenario of climate change, giving the wine producer the possibility of selecting the grape varieties that are best adapted to the climatic conditions of a certain terroir. In 2014, Symington Family Estates, Vinhos, established two grape variety libraries in two different places with distinctive climate conditions (Douro Superior, and Cima Corgo), with the commitment of contributing to a deeper agronomic and oenological understanding of some grape varieties, in hot climate conditions. In these research vineyards are represented local varieties that are important in the regional and national viticulture, but also others that have over time been forgotten — as well as five international reference cultivars. From 2017 to 2021, phenological observations have been made three times a week, following a defined protocol, to determine the average dates of budbreak, flowering and veraison. With the climate data of each location, the thermal requirements of each variety and the chronological duration of each phase have been calculated. During maturation, berry samples have been gathered weekly to study the dynamics of sugar accumulation, between other parameters. The data was analysed applying phenological and sugar accumulation models available in literature. The results obtained show significant differences between the varieties over several parameters, from the chronological duration and thermal requirements to complete the various stages of development, to the differences between the two locations, confirming the influence of the climate on phenology and the stages of maturation, in these specific conditions.

A predictive model of spatial Eca variability in the vineyard to support the monitoring of plant status

[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"...