Cold Hardiness of Cold Climate Interspecific Hybrid Grapevines Grown in a Cold Climate Region

Abstract

: Cold climate interspecific hybrid grapevines (CCIHG) selected for their superior mid-winter cold hardiness have expanded grape production to cold climate regions. However, extreme weather events, such as polar vortexes, and high frequency of fall and spring freezes often result in yield and vine losses. The main objective of this study was to evaluate changes in bud cold hardiness of five CCIHG cultivars grown in the upper Midwest in order to identify relative risk for freeze damage throughout the dormant period, and to adapt a bud cold hardiness prediction model to CCIHG cultivars grown in cold climate regions. Bud cold hardiness was evaluated biweekly throughout the dormant period by measuring lethal temperatures for buds using differential thermal analysis (DTA). CCIHG cultivars in our study had an early acclimation response with increased levels of cold hardiness before 26 the occurrence of freezing temperatures. Maximum levels of hardiness (-28 to -30°C) were observed both years in February, however deeper levels of freezing stress resistance, probably attained by freeze

Development of a new cold hardiness prediction model for grapevine using phased integration of acclimation and deacclimation responses

“…Parameters here are optimized using field data, as in other modeling studies (Ferguson et al, 2014;North et al, 2021). This was done despite some data available on deacclimation rates for the two V.…”

“…The ability to gain cold hardiness appears to decrease as chilling accumulates and buds transition to ecodormancy (Ferguson et al, 2011; Ferguson et al, 2014; North et al, 2021). The inverse seems to happen with regards to warm temperatures: a bud’s deacclimation responsiveness increases as chilling accumulates (Ferguson et al 2011, 2014; Cragin et al, 2017; Kovaleski et al, 2018; North et al, 2021; Kovaleski, 2022). Therefore, acknowledging dormancy dynamics is necessary for predicting cold hardiness.…”

“…Therefore, from here on the models proposed by Ferguson and collaborators are referred to as WAUS.1 (Ferguson et al, 2011) and WAUS.2 (Ferguson et al, 2014). The WAUS.2 model has also been recently adapted for cold climate interspecific hybrids grown in a different environment (North et al, 2021). However, as indicated by the original authors, local adaptation of the model may be required given the specific climate in which it was developed.…”

Time to budbreak is not enough: cold hardiness evaluation is necessary in dormancy and spring phenology studies

“…During fall and early winter, when cold hardiness has not reached its maximum, both cold hardiness and deacclimation rate increase, suggesting such correlation to be true. Once a maximum cold hardiness is reached for a given species {in about December for many species and maintained throughout winter [see Ferguson et al (2011), Londo and Kovaleski (2017), North et al (2021), Kovaleski (2022)]}, only the rate of deacclimation continues to increase in response to chilling accumulation. For some species that were evaluated throughout losing their field cold hardiness in early spring ( Acer rubrum and Cercis canadensis in Fig.…”

Mitigating grapevine winter damage in cold climate areas

“…Crosses between vinifera cultivars and native North American species have shown the inheritance of good cold hardiness traits (Hemstead, Luby 2000). These are sometimes known as Northern grapes (Shoemaker 2012), or cold climate interspecific hybrid grapevines (CCIHG; North et al 2021). Breeding of wine grape cultivars hardy to winter conditions in the northern United States, where annual minimum temperatures of -25 °C or lower are common, is relatively new (Bradshaw et al 2018).…”