@article {Fragaajev.2015.15031, author = {Helder Fraga and Ricardo Costa and Jos{\'e} Moutinho-Pereira and Carlos M. Correia and Lia-T{\^a}nia Dinis and Igor Gon{\c c}alves and Jos{\'e} Silvestre and Jos{\'e} Eiras-Dias and Aureliano C. Malheiro and Jo{\~a}o A. Santos}, title = {Modeling Phenology, Water Status, and Yield Components of Three Portuguese Grapevines Using the STICS Crop Model}, elocation-id = {ajev.2015.15031}, year = {2015}, doi = {10.5344/ajev.2015.15031}, publisher = {American Journal of Enology and Viticulture}, abstract = {Viticulture plays a key role on the Portuguese economic growth. The possibility of obtaining early predictions of viticultural parameters, such as phenology, water status, yield and potential wine characteristics, are of great value for growers, influencing the entire viticultural chain. The present study is a first approach to adapt STICS, a dynamical crop model, to the Portuguese winegrowing conditions and grapevine varieties. Several site specific parameters for climate, soil and management practices are assessed. Varietal specific parameters are measured from vineyards in the Douro and Lisboa winegrowing regions. Three of the most important varieties in the country (Aragonez, Touriga-Franca and Touriga-Nacional) are targeted for model calibration. Overall, the STICS crop model is successful in simulating yield, phenological stages and water stress, but not alcohol content. The relatively high model skill will allow improving the performance of vineyard operations and winemaking practices, namely organizing harvests, vineyard intervention scheduling, irrigation procedures and strategic planning of wineries. STICS can be considered as a feasible decision supporting tool for short- and long-term strategic planning in the Portuguese viticulture, particularly taking into account the projected impacts of climate change. The efficiency gains resulting from the use of this crop model by wine industry stakeholders is expected to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the wine sector in Portugal.}, issn = {0002-9254}, URL = {https://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/06/12/ajev.2015.15031}, eprint = {https://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/06/12/ajev.2015.15031.full.pdf}, journal = {American Journal of Enology and Viticulture} }