RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Preveraison Water Deficit Accelerates Berry Color Change in Merlot Grapevines
JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
JO Am. J. Enol. Vitic.
FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture
SP ajev.2016.15083
DO 10.5344/ajev.2016.15083
A1 Jose C. Herrera
A1 Simone D. Castellarin
YR 2016
UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2016/02/25/ajev.2016.15083.abstract
AB In red varieties, color change of the berry from green to red is one of the first events associated to ripening and is often used as an indicator of veraison by viticulturists. Water deficit can accelerate the ripening process and increase the accumulation of pigments in the berry skin. The impact of water deficit on the timing and progression of berry color change in the vineyard was little investigated. Here we present the results of three years of observations (2011–2013) on the progression of color change in Merlot vines subjected to water deficit (WD) or irrigation (C) regimes. Water deficit did not affect the date when berries started changing color in 2011 and 2012, but pigmentation begun three days earlier in WD than in C vines in 2013. Water deficit accelerated the pigmentation process in all the years and WD berries completed color change five days before C on average.