Environmental effects on cv Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.: 1. Phenology and characterisation of viticultural environments

Six Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard sites in Hawke's Bay (New Zealand), selected out of 28 sites observed in 1996/97, were studied over three consecutive seasons in order to characterise viticultural environments of this region for this cultivar. Indices of precocity of vine phenology were used to analyse the relationship between phenology at the selected sites and vegetative growth, productivity, fruit ripening and wine sensory characteristics. Marked differences in indices of precocity existed between sites. These differences were mostly correlated with vine vegetative growth and canopy indices. There was no relationship between yield and vine phenology. Indices of precocity were correlated with certain juice constituents measured on a common date, as well as the sensory scores of wines produced by microvinification from grapes harvested on different dates and maturity levels. Vineyard sites that differed in indices of precocity also differed in their environmental characteristics, particularly in soil physical properties and water balance.     

Environmental effects on cv Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.: 2. Development of a site index

Based on observations of Cabernet Sauvignon phenology, cropping and fruit characteristics at six vineyard sites in Hawke's Bay (New Zealand) studied over three seasons, a numerical model is proposed to characterise environmental conditions of a vineyard site. The proposed model is based on air temperature in October and January, seasonal rainfall, rooting depth, gravel percentage and clay-to-silt ratio in topsoil. The 'Site Index' (SI) calculated from these variables was significantly correlated with soil temperature and volumetric soil moisture content, themselves closely linked with clay-to-silt ratio, air temperature and rainfall. Vegetative growth, canopy characteristics, precocity of veraison, total anthocyanins, TSS and malic acid concentration in grapes, as well as wine sensory score, were all significantly correlated with the SI values at six sites and over two seasons. Over the same period, correlation of SI with several viticultural variables was generally stronger than five existing climatic indices for viticulture calculated for these sites. The proposed SI index appears to have potential use for vineyard zoning and site selection and evaluation.     

Towards a simple indicator of water stress in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) based on the differential sensitivities of vegetative growth components

Responses of grapevine vegetative growth components to mild, medium and severe soil water deficits were used to identify simple and sensitive indicators for early diagnosis of water stress. Soil water deficit was characterised as the fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) remaining in a water‐depleted rootzone. Growth components included the number of emerged leaves on first (Ist) and second (IInd) order lateral branches, the leaf area and internode length of each phytomer of Ist order lateral branches, and the frequency of IInd order lateral branching. These components were measured in a greenhouse on Shiraz (syn. Syrah) grapevines, over a 38‐day period of stabilised soil water regimes. Leaf emergence rate, final leaf area and final internode length of lateral branches I were relatively insensitive to mild and medium water deficits. They only decreased in response to severe water deficits. The frequency of IInd order lateral branching showed a similar trend, but was inhibited at severe water deficits. The leaf emergence rate of lateral branches II was highly sensitive to FTSW, and decreased even in response to mild water deficits. Because measurement of leaf emergence rate is a time consuming process, further analysis of the data was undertaken to identify a simpler but similarly effective indicator of cumulative water deficit. Accordingly, we established that the final length of lateral branches I was sensitive to medium water deficits, while the final ratio of the number of leaves on lateral branches II to the number of leaves on lateral branches I, was sensitive to even mild water deficits. Both of these composite indicators (derived variables) were relatively easy to measure and showed potential as early indicators of water deficits. They were more sensitive to FTSW than was predawn leaf water potential. Moreover, the final ratio of the number of leaves on lateral branches II to the number of leaves on lateral branches I was even more sensitive to FTSW than was stomatal conductance.     

Effects of nutrient and water stress on vegetative and reproductive growth in Vitis vinifera L.

Two watering and two nutrient regimes were applied to small vines established in pots and grown under greenhouse conditions. With water, a comparison was made between water adequacy (WH) and intermittent water stress (WL); with nutrition, between nutrient sufficiency (NH) using fertiliser-enhanced potting medium and insufficiency (NL) with one-fifth fertiliser application. NL reduced major growth parameters - shoot length, stem weight and leaf weight - more than did WL. Both NL and WL reduced node and leaf number, but only NL reduced internode length, leaf area and weight. WL had bigger effects when combined with NH than with NL. WL, especially when combined with NH, advanced maturity by ten days. Effects of W and N on pH, malic acid, tartaric acid and total soluble solids (°Brix) were different. The °Brix values were similar in WH and WL, but were less in NH than in NL. The treatments interacted in pH, malate and tartrate: pH was highest in WL/NH and lowest in WH/NH; malate tended to be less at both WL and NL, while tartrate concentration tended to become smaller from WH to WN but greater from NL to NH. No significant changes in the levels of citric acid, anthocyanin or reducing sugars were observed as a consequence of any treatment. Thus, although levels of stress due to WL or NL may have been different, the differences in the effects on several variables indicate that there is no general response to stress but that responses vary according to the factor inducing the stress. The level of reduction in variables measuring vegetative growth was 2– to 3-fold greater than induced changes in juice composition. Advancement of maturity would suggest a potential value of intermittent water stress combined with adequate nutrition in areas with short seasons. Low-nutrient soils might be desirable in areas where other factors are likely to induce strong growth.     

The effect of post-veraison water deficit on yield components and maturation of irrigated Shiraz (Vitis vinifera L.) in the current and following season

Given their perennial nature, grapevines can respond to deficit irrigation during both the current season as well as during the following season, even though full irrigation may have been restored during that second season. To define the cropping responses involved, three post-veraison irrigation treatments were imposed on spur, mechanically and minimally pruned Shiraz vines that were already receiving restricted water application using Partial Rootzone Drying (PRD). The treatments resulted in the vines receiving 1.25 ML per hectare pre veraison and the three irrigation treatments receiving 1.25, 0.65 and 0 ML of water per hectare in the post-veraison period. Water deficit during the current season reduced berry and bunch weight, and yield. Sugar concentration was reduced, and phenolic concentration increased when less water was applied, but anthocyanin concentration was unaffected. Although irrigation was returned to standard practice (PRD) in the following season, yield was reduced in accordance with deficit irrigation treatments the previous season. This reduction in yield was primarily caused by fewer bunches per vine, which in turn was a direct consequence of fewer shoots per vine (lower budburst). The lower crop load on the vines that had received restricted irrigation post-veraison in the previous season resulted in higher sugar and antho-cyanin concentrations in fruit the following season. Lighter pruning resulted in a greater number of smaller bunches comprising smaller berries. In both seasons the minimal pruning treatment delayed fruit maturity as measured by sugar accumulation. Post-veraison water deficit thus has the potential to impact on both yield and fruit composition during the current season as well as during the subsequent season.     

Effects of pre-bloom leaf removal on growth of berry tissues and must composition in two red Vitis vinifera L. cultivars

Background and Aims:  Little work has been conducted on the effects that summer pruning operations have on the relative growth of grapevine berry parts. Our paper studies whether pre-bloom leaf removal is able to modify the proportions of seed, skin and flesh in ripe grapevines berries and the related effects on must composition.
Methods and Results:  Pre-bloom defoliation (D) of the first six basal leaves on main shoots was applied to the field-grown cvs Barbera and Lambrusco salamino ( Vitis vinifera L.) in Italy's Po Valley and compared with non-defoliated controls. D showed reduced fruitset, hence yield per shoot, and concurrently improved must soluble solids and total anthocyanins in both cultivars as a likely result of increased leaf-to-fruit ratio (+3.4 cm²/g and +5.2 cm²/g for Barbera and Lambrusco, respectively) and improved relative skin mass (from 6.0 to 9.0% in Barbera and from 8.1 to 10.4% in Lambrusco). In both cultivars, skin and seed mass were highly correlated with total berry mass and changes in relative skin mass were generally not related to berry size.
Conclusions:  These results indicate that berry size per se is not the primary factor in determining final grape composition, which instead seems to depend upon factors differentially affecting the growth of the various berry components.
Significance of the Study:  Pre-bloom D induced a consistent, site and cultivar-independent increase in relative skin mass suggesting this effect being strongly physiologically regulated.