Enoforum 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Enoforum Web 9 Enoforum Web Conference 2021 9 X-ray tomography: a promising tool to assess the selection of good quality grafted vines

X-ray tomography: a promising tool to assess the selection of good quality grafted vines

Abstract

The production of grated vines is a complex process from grafting to final sorting in nurseries. To reach the market, grafted grapevines must meet three criteria by law in France: resistance to a manual graft union test (named thumb test), a minimum number of three roots and a woody shoot of at least 2 cm long. The thumb test is in essence unmeasurable in view of its manual and subjective execution and does not allow to evaluate the internal quality of the junctions. The development of tools and medical imaging methods may help to assess the internal quality of the graft union.

Commonly used in the medical field to identify some pathologies, X-ray tomography is also used in other fields including plant biology because of its ability to image structures in depth. Previous work on vines has shown its interest to distinguish the pith, the phloem, the xylem vessels and the necrotic tissues. We decided to investigate its ability to identify possible internal criteria relevant to the selection of good quality grafted vines prior to marketing. 

We therefore developed a specific methodology in terms of scanning parameters, 3D reconstruction and images analysis able to be used onto many plants. It was then applied onto 110 vines, Omega-grafted, just before being sorted. Different internal anatomical and functional criteria were measured in the rootstock, the scion and the graft area. Two criteria (“Quantity of xylem produced after grafting” and “Air and necrosis volume in the grafting area”) appeared interesting because they present statically different values on the batches that pass or not the sorting process. 

DOI:

Publication date: April 23, 2021

Issue: Enoforum 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Anne-Sophie Spilmont*, Camille Carrere, Yosra Hmedi and Guillaume Mathieu

Institut Français de la Vigne et du vin (IFV), Montpellier, France.

Contact the author

Keywords

grafting, 3D imaging, X-ray Tomography, nursery, graft quality

Tags

Enoforum 2021 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Conservation: the best valorisation strategy for wine growing areas

Terroir encompasses many elements, including environment, grapes and human inputs that together contribute to the final wine quality of a certain wine growing area.

Temperature variability assessment at vineyard scale: control of data accuracy and data processing protocol

Climatic variability studies at fine scale have been developed in recent years with the reduction of material cost and the development of competitive miniaturized sensors. This work is forming part the LIFE-ADVICLIM project, of which one of the objectives is to model spatial temperature variability at vineyard scale. In the Bordeaux pilot site, a large network of data loggers has been set up to record temperature close to the vine canopy. The reduced distance between plant foliage and measurement equipment raises specific issues and leads to an increased rate of outliers compared to data retrieved from classical weather stations. Some of these were detected during data analysis, but others could not be easily identified. The present study aims to address the issue of data quality control and provide recommendations for data processing in climatic studies at fine scale.

Sardinia terroir and Cannonau: a zoning approach to discover an ancient tradition

Cannonau variety is historically grown in a large Sardinia area (Jerzu district) and the vineyards are planted both in the plane and in the sloped hills reaching also 650 m of altitude a.s.l. Thus, in order to discover how climate, soil diversity and growing traditions could account for differences in grape and wine quality, this trial was carried out.

Enzyme treatments during pre-fermentative maceration of white winegrapes: effect on volatile organic compounds and chromatic traits

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are very important for the characterisation and quality of the final white wine. An oenological practice to increase the extraction of aroma compounds is the cold pre-fermentative maceration [1,2], although it may also release phenolic compounds that confer darker chromatic traits to white wines, not appreciated by consumers. This practice could be improved by the use of enzymes in order to facilitate the release of the odorous molecules. In this study, the effect of different enzyme treatments during skin contact on the chromatic characteristics and volatile composition of white musts from four winegrape varieties was evaluated.

The effects of calcite silicon-mediated particle film application on leaf temperature and grape composition of Merlot (Vitis vinifera L.) vines under different irrigation conditions

This study examined whether the application of calcite-silicon mediated particle film (CaPF) at veraison can mitigate a drought-induced increase in leaf temperature on grapevine, thus contributing to improved leaf functionality, yield and grape composition traits. A total of 48 five-year-old Merlot (Vitis vinifera L.)