Calibrated, delayed-cane winter pruning controls yield and significantly postpones berry ripening parameters inVitis viniferaL. cv. Pinot Noir

Abstract

Background and Aims: The postponement of spur pruning after budburst has recently been proposed as a simple and inexpensive way to delay sugaring, maintain acidity and contain yield in spur-pruned trellised grapes. Yet, no long-term data are available for the widely adopted cane pruning system. Methods and Results: Mature field grown Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Noir vines were subjected for three consecutive years to the following treatments: standard winter pruning (WP), double pruning (DP), where shortening and positioning of the selected cane is postponed, and late pruning (LP), where all pruning operations are postponed. Postponed pruning was performed when shoot growth from node 10 of the unpruned canes had reached an average stage of more than three unfolded leaves. Phenological and ripening dynamics, yield components and must composition were determined. Double pruning did not affect phenology and overall vine performance compared to that of WP. Conversely, LP significantly delayed ripening over 2 trial years; LP also slightly increased whole-vine and single-cane phenological variability, whereas yield per vine was reduced by 35% as compared to that of WP because of lower shoot fruitfulness. Conclusions: If repeated over several seasons, late WP applied to a cane-pruned system when the distal part of the cane has already burst an average of three leaves can become effective at delaying phenology and extending maturity into a cooler season. Significance of the Study: We have validated a simple technique suitable for preserving balanced must composition required for a range of sparkling wine styles.

Kaolin Reduces ABA Biosynthesis through the Inhibition of Neoxanthin Synthesis in Grapevines under Water Deficit

“…Whole-canopy net CO 2 exchange rate/leaf area (NCER/LA) measurements were taken using the multi-chamber system reported in Poni et al [ 37 ] with the configuration described in Frioni et al [ 15 ]. To warrant unbiased comparison vs. canopy development, leaf area (LA) per vine was estimated as described in Gatti et al [ 38 ] and NCER/LA (μmol CO 2 /m 2 s) computed accordingly. Since vines assigned to the two treatments had the same shoot number inside (~8) and outside (1) the chambers and, additionally, shoot growth along the cane was very uniform, measured E and NCER were estimated to be ~91% of total vine actual transpiration and assimilation.…”

Post‐budburst hand finishing of winter spur pruning can delay technological ripening without altering phenolic maturity of Merlot berries

“…In the last few years, many studies have showed the effects of post‐budburst spur pruning on red wine cultivars and it was reported that the phenological stage at which vines were pruned had a substantial effect on yield and final TSS concentration (Frioni et al , , Gatti et al , , Moran et al , , Palliotti et al , Petrie et al , Silvestroni et al ). It was also demonstrated that this technique, if applied appropriately, was able to delay sugar accumulation and increased the concentration of phenolic substances of berries while not affecting anthocyanin (Palliotti et al , Silvestroni et al ).…”

Analysis and impact of recent climate trends on grape composition in north-east Italy

“…In Chardonnay, water deficit led to an increase of flavonol concentration [12]. Under this climatic scenario, the Climate change's impact on viticulture creates the need of innovative vineyard establishment techniques and cultural practices allowing a minimization of the adverse effects related to EWE or, conversely, the ability to take advantage of them [13][14][15][16][17]. Within vineyard establishment solutions, row orientation is essential, as it affects plant radiation interception and therefore the wine quality [18,19].…”

“…Innovative cultural practices have been recently developed to cope with current climate change. Delayed cane winter pruning [17] or the use of antitranspirants [16] allowed the manipulation of the ripening process to deal with multiple summer stresses.…”