Effects of Open-Top Chambers on physiological and yield attributes of field grown grapevines

Abstract

Touriga Franca grapevines were grown in Open-Top Chamber (OTC) and in outside plot (Exterior) for 3 years (2004)(2005)(2006) to investigate the impact of these structures on climatic conditions and, consequently, on physiological and yield attributes. In general, CO 2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, carbohydrate concentration, maximum bulk modulus of elasticity, palisade parenchyma thickness, leaf mass per unit area and values of red/far-red ratio transmitted by leaves were lower, whereas intrinsic water use efficiency, SPAD-readings and osmotic potential at full turgor were higher in OTC leaves. However, OTC did not affect leaf water potential, maximum PSII photochemical efficiency, stomatal density and soluble proteins concentration. Also, there were no significant differences in C, P, Ca and Fe between treatments. Meanwhile, N and Mg were higher, whereas K concentration was lower in OTC leaves. The environmental conditions inside OTC provided a significant reduction in yield and Ravaz index of 2004, mainly due to a decrease in clusters weight. Regarding the vegetative growth parameters, OTC did not influence the pruning weight, but in 2006 the weight/shoot was significantly lower in OTC vines. In conclusion, the use OTC facility to study the impact of CO 2 enrichment was very expedite, but the extrapolation of results to the open-field environment must be prudent due to the OTC effect.

Effects of Elevated CO2 Levels on the Growth and Yield of Summer-Grown Cucumbers Cultivated under Different Day and Night Temperatures

“…These findings also indicate that long-term exposure to eCO 2 inhibits N assimilation. The higher C:N ratio in plants exposed to eCO 2 (Figure 8) verified abundant photosynthate translocation to fruits and the variations in fruit C: N, which, in turn, indirectly affirmed the effects of eCO 2 levels on fruit quality [34]. These results also suggest that cucumber plants exhibit plasticity not only in morphology but also in physiological traits in response to different C availability.…”

“…The long-term effects of eCO 2 on photosynthetic acclimation can be attributed to various reasons, including the inhibition of protein synthesis, N partitioning, C:N ratio, and sink strength [30][31][32][33][34]. C sink strength is a key limiting factor for plant yield, as plants exposed to eCO 2 levels have limited C sink strength and exhibit decreased photosynthetic rates to stabilize C source activity and sink capacity [35][36][37][38].…”

Kaolin-based, foliar reflective film protects photosystem II structure and function in grapevine leaves exposed to heat and high solar radiation

“…Grapevine production in Mediterranean ---regions, especially in the Douro Demarcated Region (DDR, northeast Portugal), is subject to hot and dry summer climate conditions, which may irreversibly impair some physiological processes (Berry and Björkman 1980) and lead to poor grape yields and quality (Moutinho-Pereira et al 2004, Ferreira et al 2012. As it occurs in other species, Vitis vinifera photosynthetic activity declines during typical summer days due to stomatal and nonstomatal limitations, including disturbances in biochemical and photochemical processes (Chaves et al 1987, Moutinho-Pereira et al 2010. Many inorganic and organic products have been exogenously applied in order to mitigate negative effects caused by high irradiance and extreme temperature in grapevine (Song et al 2012).…”

A whole canopy gas exchange system for the targeted manipulation of grapevine source-sink relations using sub-ambient CO2

“…Under elevated CO 2 , stomatal conductance has in most cases been observed to decrease, leading to reduced water use on both a leaf and whole canopy basis [31, 32]. Reduced stomatal conductance has also been observed with mature field-grown grapevines under elevated CO 2 [29, 33]. Conversely, if CO 2 concentrations are lowered, stomatal conductance would be normally expected to increase [34, 35].…”