Leaf blade and petiole nutritional evolution and variability throughout the crop season for Vitis vinifera L. cv. Graciano

Abstract

An adequate nutritional state of a crop can be kept by means of a well-designed fertilization plan based on the assessment of the nutrient availability throughout the growing season. The objective of this study was to determine the reliability of leaf blade and petiole diagnosis and the period of validity of their references at both flowering and veraison by means of systematic monitoring throughout the complete growing season. The study was carried out in two plots planted with Vitis vinifera L. cv. Graciano within the AOC Rioja (Spain). Blades and petioles were collected throughout a growing season (2006) and total N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B concentrations were analyzed in both tissues. Results suggest, in general, that petioles have higher variability and lower analysis reproducibility than blades. Therefore, blade could be a more appropriate tissue to evaluate N, P, K, Ca, and Mg at both flowering and veraison in this variety. Micronutrients in blade and petiole showed different variability behaviour in each of the vineyards studied, therefore, based on our results, it was difficult to determine which one could be the best tissue for the nutritional diagnosis of the 'Graciano' variety. Seasonal changes of nutrient concentration in both tissues also confirmed the need for reference values for each tissue and each phenological stage.Additional key words: nutrition; grapevine; leaf analysis; nutritional references.

Methods for Nutrient Diagnosis of Fruit Trees Early in the Growing Season by Using Simultaneous Multi-element Analysis

“…Diagnostic methods have been assessed in grapevines to determine whether leaf blade or petiole nutrient concentrations better reflect the nutritional status of the vines, and which sampling period results in the most reliable data. Dominguez et al (2015) concluded that leaf blades are preferable to petioles for the diagnosis of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in 'Graciano' grapevines at both flowering and veraison, owing to lower variability and higher reproducibility, but they showed that Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and B in leaf blades and petioles varied differently among vineyards, so it was difficult to determine which was the best tissue for diagnosis. Schreiner and Scagel (2017) showed that N concentrations in 'Pinot noir' grapevine leaf blades at flowering and veraison have a stronger relationship with productivity and must N nutrient concentrations at harvest than petioles, and are less variable and more stable than petiole concentrations.…”

Seasonal variation of macro and micronutrients in blades and petioles of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Mencía and Sousón

“…The higher N concentrations in blades than in petioles were described for several cultivars ( Christensen , ; Romero et al., ). Moreover, Ca, Fe, and Cu concentrations were also greater in blades ( Benito et al, ; Domínguez et al, ). In contrast, petioles showed higher concentrations of K, Mg, Mn, and Zn ( Christensen , ; Schreiner and Scagel , ; Romero et al, ; Domínguez et al, ).…”

“…Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the vectors that differ from the dependent variables (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B), as described by Domínguez et al (). The original variables were standardized to make them to have variance = 1.…”

“…The differences in nutrient concentrations among sampling dates were assessed by means of a one‐way ANOVA followed by a post‐hoc test (Tukey, P ≤ 5%) in order to define the periods of validity for references at different phenological stages. ANOVA was performed by comparing groups of five consecutive samplings similarly to Domínguez et al (). In our case, we separated the dataset into the first 5 samplings and the last 5 samplings and carried out the ANOVA and Tukey tests for each of them.…”

“…Previous reports on cvs. Tempranillo, Garnacha tinta, and Graciano proved the usefulness of carrying out monitoring studies throughout the entire growth season in order to assess the reliability of leaf blade and petiole diagnosis and the period of validity of their references ( Benito et al, ; Romero et al, ; Domínguez et al, ). These studies showed a greater variability for nutrient concentrations in petioles, implying a lower reproducibility for this tissue ( Benito et al, ; Romero et al, ).…”