Impact of delayed winter pruning on phenology and ripening kinetics of Pinot Noir grapevines

Abstract

Climate change impacts viticulture with even stronger effects on sparkling wines. Innovative cultural practices represent effective short-term solutions. Among these, postponement of winter pruning later than budburst delayed both vegetative and reproductive cycles as well as technological maturity of several varieties from different wine regions. This research aims to assess the impact of delayed winter pruning on grapevine performance as a function of training system. The trial was carried out in a Pinot Noir vineyard sited at 385 m asl in Central Italy. Delayed winter pruning was performed when unpruned canes had shoots showing three unfolded leaves (BBCH 13) and compared to standard winter pruning within two separate experiments focused on: i) cane pruning, and ii) spur pruning. Grapevine phenology, vegetative growth, fruit ripening kinetics and productivity of selected vines were assessed over three years. Delayed winter pruning postponed budburst by 20 and 31 days in Guyot and spur pruned cordons, respectively; then, differences diminished over time showing a maximum delay of 17 days at bloom and 7–10 days at harvest. Despite a decrease in yield (ranging from −35 to −47% in cane and spur pruning, respectively), delayed winter pruning increased titratable acidity (40–89%) and reduced sugars (721%) as compared to control vines. Although effects of delayed pruning were stronger in spur pruned vines, delayed winter pruning was effective also on cane-pruned vines, therefore adapting to varieties marked by low basal-node fruitfulness

Effect of early cane pruning on yield components, grape composition, carbohydrates storage and phenology in <i>Vitis vinifera</i> L. cv. Merlot

“…However, budburst postponement was quite small and could hardly be effective in protecting the vine from late frost. Nevertheless, a longer interval was obtained in Pinot Noir by pruning the unpruned canes when the shoots on node ten had three unfolded leaves (Gatti et al, 2019). Despite the delay, at harvest, all treatments showed no differences in berry composition, indicating that vines could fill the gap throughout the season; interestingly, in 2016, no phenology differences were observed among treatments by veraison.…”

Evaluation of Wild, Wine, Table, and Raisin Grapevine (Vitis spp.) Genotypes in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…The number of tendrils per vine in Alamata wild grapevine grown in Yirgacheffe (17.56 ± 1.60) was the same as Ruby seedless, Sugraone, Concord in Dilla, and Cardinal in Yirgacheffe. On the same trend, several researchers' findings [ 13 , 17 , 18 ] indicated that there was great possibility of selecting a native wild grapevine to produce new grapevines that could be resistant and tolerant to grapevine biotic and abiotic stresses, respectively.…”

“…Generally, shorter grapevines are recommended in the viticulture and wine industry. This might be due to pruning and training at the right time and in a proper system as a core element to produce high berry yield and make thus wine of good quality [ 18 ].…”

Use of Non-Saccharomyces Yeast to Enhance the Acidity of Wines Produced in a Warm Climate Region: Effect on Wine Composition

“…To mitigate such effects, different strategies can be carried out. Among the viticultural ones, these include a reduction of bunch exposure to sunlight by means of sprawl trellis systems [9]; late pruning to delay the phenological cycle [10,11]; a reduction of the leaf/fruit ratio to delay the harvest date [12,13]; grapevine irrigation [14]; and the application of sun protectants [15][16][17]. In newly established vineyards, it is recommended that one should use grapevine varieties and clones that stand out for their resistance to high temperatures, drought, and delayed vegetative cycle [4,18].…”