Effects of novel hybrid and traditional rootstocks on vigour and yield components of Shiraz grapevines

Abstract

Background and Aims: The influence of grapevine rootstocks on vine vigour and crop yield is recognized as an integral part of viticultural management. However, the genetic potential of Vitis species rootstock hybrids for vigour and yield control is not fully exploited in Australian viticulture. The effect of 55 novel inter-and intra-species hybrids and five traditional hybrid rootstock cultivars on winter pruning weight, berry size and fruit yield of grafted Shiraz vines is presented. The genetic predictions that resulted from this analysis were used to illustrate how rootstocks that best perform for a combination of traits may be selected. Methods and Results: The use of linear mixed models and residual maximum likelihood procedures took into account repeated measures and spatial variation within a large field trial (720 vines). Over 6 years of assessment, variation of up to 93.9% in winter pruning weight, 81.9% in fruit yield and 21.0% in berry weight between rootstocks was estimated. Conclusions: The effect of rootstock genotype accounted for marked differences in conferred pruning weight, berry weight and fruit yield from trial averages. Comparison of statistical analysis techniques illustrated that the choice of such techniques may influence the outcome of genetic selection from field trial data. Significance of the Study: Such quantification of the variation between vines in vigour, fruit yield and berry size due to rootstock genotype provides a framework for selection of well-performing genotypes for inclusion in advanced generations of the CSIRO vine rootstock breeding program.

Cotton shoot plays a major role in mediating senescence induced by potassium deficiency

“…Data for the relative importance of root (rootstock) and shoot (scion) in regulating growth and some physiological processes are variable. There is considerable evidence that elite rootstocks can mediate resistance to biotic (Anwar et al, 2002) and abiotic stress in plants, such as thermal stress (Rivero et al, 2003) and salt stress (Ruiz et al, 2006;Albacete et al, 2009Albacete et al, , 2010Ghanem et al, 2011a), thereby influencing scion growth and yield (Van Norman et al, 2004;Dodd et al, 2009;Jones et al, 2009) as well as delaying leaf senescence (Dong et al, 2008;Ghanem et al, 2011a). The importance of the shoot, in the regulation of growth (Chen et al, 2003;Tandonnet et al, 2010), leaf senescence (Faiss et al, 1997), branching (Beveridge et al, 1997;Foo et al, 2007), and drought tolerance (Holbrook et al, 2002) was also documented.…”

Manipulating the leaf area to fruit mass ratio alters the synchrony of total soluble solids accumulation and titratable acidity of grape berries

“…Yield parameters can be influenced by rootstock choice, although there has been little effect observed of rootstock on maturation parameters, such as TSS and/or TA (Walker et al 2000, Nuzzo and Matthews 2006, Di Filippo and Vila 2011, Harbertson and Keller 2011, Keller et al 2012. Rootstocks still may need to be considered in future work concerning a greater range of berry components or if yield difference is substantial between different rootstocks as illustrated in Jones et al (2009).…”

Wood and roots of major grapevine cultivars and rootstocks: A comparative analysis of stilbenes by UHPLC‐DAD‐MS/MS and NMR

“…Since then, the European species Vitis vinifera which confers quality has been grafted to the wild American Vitis roostock which controls phylloxera and other soil‐borne pests . Rootstocks also play a role in response to various abiotic stresses (salinity, drought, limestone) as well as modify the vigor of the scion, biomass accumulation, yield and phenology . Nowadays, approximatively 70 to 80 rootstocks are used worldwide due to their beneficial characteristics .…”