PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Weerarathne, Visna
AU  - Paudel, Asmita
AU  - Sehgal, Akanksha
AU  - Tegtmeier, Richard
AU  - Ikeogu, Ugochukwu
AU  - Ahn, Ezekiel
AU  - Cadle-Davidson, Lance
AU  - Kirubakaran, Silvas
TI  - Rapid Determination of Bud and Leaf Water Content Using Hyperspectral Sensors to Monitor Cold Hardiness in Grapevine
AID  - 10.5344/ajev.2025.25019
DP  - 2025 Nov 01
TA  - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
PG  - 0760027
VI  - 76
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/76/2/0760027.short
4100  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/76/2/0760027.full
SO  - Am J Enol Vitic.2025 Nov 01; 76
AB  - Background and goals Cold hardiness in dormant grapevine buds depends on water dynamics during winter. Understanding winter bud responses and their effects on summer leaf physiology is critical for developing cultivars adapted to harsh winters, while maintaining productivity. Semi-automated differential thermal analysis (DTA) is widely used to determine cold hardiness. In this study, we evaluated DTA alongside high-throughput sensor technologies (including hyperspectral and multispectral sensing) to assess their potential for cold-hardiness evaluation. The objective was to explore visible and infrared hyperspectral sensing as proxy traits to assess bud and leaf water content in grapevine.Methods and key findings Over three years, bud cold hardiness (measured for two years, 2023 and 2024) and summer physiology (data collected in 2024 and 2025) were evaluated across 86 F1 progenies from a cross between Vitis hybrid NY84.0101.03 and Vitis amurensis PI 588634. Bud absorbance analysis identified consistent predictive bands at 1874, 1875, and 1888 nm across varying winter severities. Summer leaf reflectance at 1868 and 1873 nm showed strong correlations with winter bud hardiness. Among physiological traits, all but preveraison leaf-to-air vapor pressure deficit and chlorophyll fluorescence at veraison correlated positively with cluster and berry size. Stomatal conductance emerged as a key trait, showing both positive and negative associations with DTA values, depending on winter severity in 2023 and 2024.Conclusions and significance Bud absorbance, which is related to water content, can serve as a reliable proxy for bud cold hardiness, traditionally measured by DTA. In contrast, hyperspectral measurement of the anthocyanin reflectance index in leaf tissues may be used as a selection trait during summer. Twelve progenies were identified as stable performers, offering valuable material for pre-breeding efforts to combine cold tolerance with vine productivity.