GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Exploring the plasticity of the grapevine drought physiology

Exploring the plasticity of the grapevine drought physiology

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Grapevine response to water deficit has been extensively studied. Nevertheless, debate still exists regarding some physiology adoption under drought, e.g. vulnerability to cavitation or iso‐anisohydric classification, among others. Discrepancies between published results, other than specific experimental setup, are attributed to environment/climate conditions and genotypes used. Indeed, the same genotype could exhibit a different phenotype under different climates (i.e. phenotypic plasticity). To date little information is available regarding the plasticity extent of certain traits related to drought response in grapevines. Here we present the results of a novel experiment, where a single genotype was exposed to similar water stress conditions in two different locations characterized by different climatic conditions.

Material and methods ‐ 90 plants of Grüner Veltliner grafted on 5BB rootstock were grown in pots during the 2016 season in Tulln (N‐E Austria). In January 2017 and after pruning, half of the vines were transported to Udine (N‐E Italy). In both locations, vines were re‐potted in 20L pots and filled with the same commercial potting media supplemented with 30% perlite. Then, pots were arranged in rows that were covered using a plastic film roof to prevent rain. Water was supplemented by drip irrigation and a set of vines were positioned under weighting mini‐lysimeters to measure ETc. Climate data was recorded by a weather station in each site. Vines were irrigated daily to 100% ETc until the imposition of water stress (WS) towards the end of June (pre‐veraison, E‐L 33). WS vines were daily irrigated 30% ETc of WW, ecophysiological data recorded frequently, and berry/leaf tissues sampled. The experiment was carried out for two consecutive vintages on the same vines.

Results ‐ Climatic variables were different between sites and deficit irrigation based on ETc yielded different results in terms of water stress intensity. In both years, well‐watered controls in Tulln never reached water potential below ‐0.7 MPa while those in Udine reached values as low as ‐1.2 MPa. Although the pot volumes and soil type used was the same, differences in atmospheric water demand determined different irrigation volumes between sites. Also, WS vines in Udine reached Ψstem values much lower than in Tulln, impacting differently as well some berry ripening parameters. Interestingly, the stomatal conductance (gs) response to Ψstem was different between sites: in Udine gs reached values <50 mmol H2O m‐2 s‐2 at Ψstem values much lower (‐1.2 MPa) than in Tulln (‐0.8 MPa), showing how gs/Ψ often used as indicators for iso‐anisohydric classification are influenced by environmental conditions. Finally, the WUEi was different among sites in 2018, determining a better performance of the vines in Tulln compared with those in Udine. 

DOI:

Publication date: June 19, 2020

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Jose Carlos HERRERA (1), Katja ŠUKLJE (2), Stefania SAVOI (1), Alberto CALDERAN (3), Lorena BUTINAR (2), Enrico PETERLUNGER (3), Giorgio ALBERTI (3), Paolo SIVILOTTI (3), Astrid FORNECK (1)

(1) Universität für Bondenkultur (BOKU), Institute of Viticulture and Pomology, Konrad‐Lorenz Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
(2) University of Nova Gorica, Wine Research Centre, Glavni trg 8, 5271 Vipava, Slovenia
(3) University of Udine, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

deficit irrigation, water relations, berry ripening

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

An effective method for extracting high-quality RNA from grapevine

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most important economic crops in the world. Because of this importance, one finds widespread molecular genetic research on this species, an important element of which is high quality RNA.

Modulation of berry composition by different vineyard management practices

High concentration of sugars in grapes and alcohol in wines is one of the consequences of climate change on viticulture production in several wine-growing regions. In order to investigate the possibilities of adaptation of vineyard management practices aimed to reduce the accumulation of sugar during the maturation phase without reducing the accumulation of anthocyanins in grapes, a study with severe shoot trimming, shoot thinning, cluster thinning and date of harvest was conducted on Merlot variety in Istria region (Croatia), under the Mediterranean climate. Four factors which may affect grape maturation and its composition at harvest were investigated in a two-years experiment; severe shoot trimming applied at veraison when >80% of berries changed colour (in comparison to untreated control), shoot thinning (0 and 30%), cluster thinning (0 and 30%), and the date of harvest (early and standard harvest dates). Shoot thinning had no significant impact on berry composition, despite the obtained reduction in yield per vine. Lower Brix in grapes were obtained with earlier harvest date and if no cluster thinning was applied, although at the same time a reduction in the concentration of anthocyanins in berries was observed in these treatments. On the other hand, if severe shoot trimming was applied when >80% of berries changed colour, a reduction of Brix was obtained without a negative impact on berry anthocyanins concentration. We conclude that in cases when undesirably high sugar concentrations at harvest are expected, severe shoot trimming at 80% veraison may effectively be used in order to obtain moderate sugar concentration in berries together with the adequate phenolic composition.

Study of varietal wines from the qualified origin denomination Rioja (Spain): analysis of wine colour, polysaccharides, polyphenols and biogenic amines and amino acides 

The cultivar with a greater oenological potential was ‘Monastel’, which showed overall better values than ‘Tempranillo’ in colour intensity, total polyphenol index, wine colour, total anthocyanins, resveratrol and gallic acid.

From soil to canopy, the diversity of adaptation strategies  to abiotic constraints in grapevine

Climate change is here. One of the main consequences is an increase in the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses which mostly occur in a combined manner. Grapevine, which grows in a large diversity of pedo-climatic conditions, has presumably evolved different mechanisms to allow this widespread adaptation. Harnessing the genetic diversity in these mechanisms will be central to the future of viticulture in many traditional wine growing areas. The interactions between the scion and the rootstock through grafting add an additional level of diversity and adaptive potential to explore.
At the physiological level, these mechanisms are related to processes such as root system development and functioning (water and nutrient uptake), interactions with the soil microbiome, gas exchange regulation, hydraulic properties along the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, reserve storage, short and long distance signaling mechanisms and plasticity for some of these traits.

Contribution of grape seeds to evolution of acetaldehyde, pigments and tannins reactive towards salivary proteins of red wine over time

This study investigated the impact of the gsk/gse ratio on the evolution of acetaldehyde and of major phenolic compounds of aglianico wine in wine like solution and real wine. Four model solutions and the correspondant control wines were prepared. The natural weight ratio between grape skins and seeds was determined on the real grapes, and a control wine was obtained from those.