 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Macrowine 9 Macrowine 2021 9 Grapevine diversity and viticultural practices for sustainable grape growing 9 Effect of application of kaolin and pinolene on grape berry cell death, berry shrinkage, and ethanol accumulation

Effect of application of kaolin and pinolene on grape berry cell death, berry shrinkage, and ethanol accumulation

Abstract

AIM: Cell death in Vitis vinifera L. berries late in ripening and berry shrinkage (loss of mass) can decrease yield and reduce grape quality in cultivars such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and especially Shiraz. Techniques to ameliorate effects of cell death and berry shrinkage are limited. Pinolene and kaolin are two types of film-forming antitranspirants applied to plants to reduce water loss. If these antitranspirants create a water impermeable coating, they may also restrict gas exchange, exacerbating hypoxia associated with cell death in grape berries. This study aimed to identify the effects on berry physiology during ripening of kaolin and pinolene coatings on Shiraz and Grenache bunches.

METHODS: Kaolin (6% w/w), pinolene (1% w/w) and water (control) were sprayed on Shiraz and Grenache bunches (2019-2020, Waite campus University of Adelaide) during ripening every 7 to 15 days. Change in berry mass, cell vitality, internal oxygen concentration, ethanol accumulation and bunch and canopy temperature were recorded.

RESULTS: Grenache berries had almost no shrinkage and no cell death during development contrasting to continuous decline in berry mass and cell vitality in Shiraz berries from 85 days after anthesis. Kaolin had no effects on berry properties. Pinolene reduced loss of berry mass in Shiraz and slightly increased berry mass in Grenache, leading to lower sugar concentrations in both cultivars. There was no effect of pinolene on berry oxygen concentration or cell vitality since both declined similarly to controls. There was an exponential increase in berry ethanol concentration with increasing mean daily temperature. Berry ethanol concentration for Grenache was much lower than for Shiraz under similar temperature conditions. There was no effect of treatments on berry ethanol concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS

Pinolene decreased berry shrinkage and prevented high sugar concentration presumably by reducing transpiration without impacting sugar content. It was surprising that this compound could decrease water loss without apparently affecting internal oxygen concentration in the berry. Ethanol accumulation during berry ripening could be a causative factor of cell death or is closely associated with it. Temperature may decrease berry vitality by accelerating respiration which leads to anoxia and high ethanol production.

DOI:

Publication date: September 2, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Lishi Cai

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia,Apriadi Situmorang School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia Steve Tyerman School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia

Contact the author

Keywords

Citation

Second pruning as a strategy to delay maturation in cv. ‘Touriga nacional’ in the Portuguese Douro region

The advance in maturation of wine grapes is an important climate change risk related effect that could affect warm regions like Portuguese Douro Wine Region. Indeed, the climate analysis over the past years registered a decrease in the precipitation, significant higher average temperatures, and a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events, including heat waves. In these conditions the length from anthesis until maturation is shortened and the uncoupling of technical and phenolic maturity results in berries with higher sugar concentration (and lower acidity), but lower anthocyanins, tannins, and total phenolic concentration, which produce unbalanced wines.
In this work, an innovative strategy of crop forcing, based on forcing vine regrowth after a second pruning of green shoots, was tested, aimed at delaying ripening until the temperature becomes lower and, therefore, preventing acidity loss and increasing anthocyanin-to-sugar ratio. The experiments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 in a commercial vineyard of ‘Touriga Nacional’ located in the Douro Region. Crop forcing was conducted 15 (CF1) to 30 (CF2) days after fruit set. Vines pruned with conventional methods were used as control (CF0). Results confirmed that fruit ripening was shifted from the hot season (August/September), until a cooler period (October through early-November). At harvest, grapevine berries from CF1 and CF2 presented lower pH and higher acidity, than control, with no significant differences in colour intensity and phenolic levels composition. Sugar content was lower in CF2-treated vines in both seasons. However, in CF-treated vines the number and size of clusters were significantly lower (up to 88% reduction) than in control plants. A metabolomics analysis of mature berries from CF-treated vines and control is underway. Crop forcing was indeed effective in producing a more balance berry composition but severely reduced grapevine yield,

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[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"...

Effects of graft quality on growth and grapevine-water relations

Climate change is challenging viticulture worldwide compromising its sustainability due to warmer temperatures and the increased frequency of extreme events. Grafting Vitis vinifera L.

Climate, Viticulture, and Wine … my how things have changed!

The planet is warmer than at any time in our recorded past and increasing greenhouse emissions and persistence in the climate system means that continued warming is highly likely. Climate change has already altered the basic framework of growing grapes for wine production worldwide and will likely continue to do so for years to come. The wine sector can continue to play an important role in leading the agricultural sector in addressing climate change. From developing on…

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.