Aim: The effects of integrated, organic and biodynamic management on soil quality and the growth and morphological development of Riesling grapevines were assessed during the first 4 years of a long-term field trial in Geisenheim, Germany. The overall aim was to understand the effects of these different viticultural practices on soil quality and plant morphology as the basis for product quality.Methods and results: As indicators of soil quality, earthworm abundance and the activity of selected enzymes were assessed. The vegetative and reproductive development of the grapevines, as well as their susceptibility to fungal diseases in the field, wood and grape composition, and grape yield, were investigated. Individual variables were subjected to analysis of variance. Additionally, all variables were subjected to multivariate principal component analysis. Compared with plots under integrated management, plots under the two biological treatments were characterized by higher soil quality and lower vegetative growth and grape yield, and therefore higher exposure of grapes and lower grape cluster compactness, and, probably as a result of these morphological differences, lower incidence of acetic acid rot. Principal component analysis clearly differentiated the three treatments, and showed that biodynamic management had more pronounced effects than organic management in terms of enhanced soil fertility and reduction of vegetative growth.Conclusions: In the present study, organic and especially biodynamic management resulted in a morphology favouring production of high-quality grapes. The treatments differed in terms of fertilization and plant protection methods as well as choice of cover crops. Therefore, further research is necessary with respect to root growth and the nitrogen and water uptake dynamics of vines and cover crops. The differences between grapes produced under organic and biodynamic management emphasize the need for more research on the mode of action of biodynamic preparations.Significance and impact of the study: In recent years, both winegrowers and consumers have expressed steadily growing interest in organic and especially biodynamic wine production. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the effects on grapevine growth and morphological development of shifting to these methods as a way to increase product quality.
Aim: The image forming methods biocrystallisation, capillary dynamolysis and circular chromatography are introduced as a complementary tool for grape quality assessment. These methods were used to investigate grape juice samples from a long-term field trial comparing integrated, organic and biodynamic viticultural practices.Methods and results: Characteristic changes in structures created by the reaction of metal salts with grape juice were evaluated using biocrystallisation, circular chromatography and capillary dynamolysis image forming methods. In particular, this study tested the effects of cultivation method, aging time and juice concentration on structure formation.To assess grape quality, the images of the encoded grape juice samples were: i) grouped into pairs with similar image features, ii) characterised based on reference images (e.g., high versus low resistance to degradation, or the amount of substance necessary for structure formation), iii) ranked according to structures associated with grape quality, and iv) assigned to the different production methods (classification). In order for similar structural features in the image forming methods to be expressed, all samples of grape juice harvested from integrated production over four years required higher juice concentrations than samples from organic and biodynamic origin. This was interpreted as the latter two production systems having higher structure formation efficacy. Furthermore, juices produced from the integrated management system exhibited more structures, indicative of a lower resistance to aging. In three out of four harvest years, the biodynamic samples exhibited the highest structure forming efficacy and resistance to aging.Conclusion: These findings are consistent with enhanced form maintenance and thus higher internal product quality of biodynamic and organic grapes compared to grapes from integrated farming.Significance and impact of the study: Image forming methods may serve as a valuable tool for grape juice and wine quality assessment to complement compound-specific chemical analyses.
Background and aims The image-forming methods copper chloride crystallization, capillary dynamolysis and circular chromatography are presented as an instrument for assessing wine quality. Wine quality of samples from a long-term field trial comparing integrated, organic and biodynamic management were investigated by using image-forming methods and sensory analysis. Methods and results Concerning the image-forming methods copper chloride crystallization, capillary dynamolysis and circular chromatography, the images of encoded samples were (i) grouped into pairs with similar image features; (ii) characterized based on reference images (e. g. high–low resistance to degradation); (iii) ranked (according to the characterization), and (iv) assigned to the different production methods (classified). Wine samples from organic and biodynamic management needed less wine per sample for a similar expression of structural characteristics than wine samples from integrated cultivation. Organic and biodynamic samples also show structures that indicate less degeneration than integrated samples. Due to these properties, nine coded wine samples from 2010 could be (i) grouped, (ii) characterized, (iii) ranked and (iv) classified without errors, i.e., assigned to the cultivation methods of integrated, organic and biodynamic agriculture. In sensory analysis, the wine derived from biodynamic management had the highest aroma intensity. In the other parameters the differences were not significant. Conclusion Analysis with the image-forming methods copper chloride crystallization, capillary dynamolysis and circular chromatography complements sensory analysis for a more complete description of the characteristic properties of wines originating from different management systems. Significance of the study If further studies confirm these results, the image-forming methods copper chloride crystallization, capillary dynamolysis and circular chromatography may be developed as a complementary tool to sensory and chemical analysis in assessing wine quality. Graphic abstract
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