RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Water Deficits Synchronizes Color Development among Berries in Crimson Seedless Table Grapes
JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
JO Am J Enol Vitic.
FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture
SP ajev.2018.17070
DO 10.5344/ajev.2018.17070
A1 Arturo Calderon-Orellana
A1 Nicolás Bambach
A1 Felipe Aburto
A1 Mauricio Calderón
YR 2018
UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2018/09/20/ajev.2018.17070.abstract
AB Crimson Seedless is one of the most important table grape cultivars in the world, but often exhibits uneven berry coloration when growing in warm climates. Deficit irrigation has been extensively used by growers during the ripening phase to advance fruit maturity and color, but there is a lack of information on the relationship between irrigation practices and fruit ripening variability. We imposed deficit irrigation from veraison to harvest in a commercial Crimson Seedless vineyard in the Maipo Valley, Chile, for two consecutive seasons and test for effects on uniformity of Brix, firmness, and color parameters “L”, “a”, “b”, and CIRG using ANOVA on absolute residuals (Levene’s test). Post-veraison water stress increased water productivity, Brix, and slightly improved berry coloration, but showed no impact on berry weight, size, and firmness. Moderate levels of water stress improved color uniformity at harvest, as lower values of leaf water potential were associated with a lower percentage of green berries that never matured. These results confirmed the role of deficit irrigation in the ripening process of table grapes. In contrast, extending the fruit ripening period by delaying harvest beyond 18 Brix, in anticipation of improving berry color development, showed no increase in color accumulation while increasing berry shatter in this study.