HANDS-ON SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME FAST GRAPE RIPENING

HANDS-ON SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME FAST GRAPE RIPENING 1 Techniques based on modification of growing and ripening pattern Increase of vine yield (> bud load) Late shoot trimming Late irrigation (i.e. just before harvest) Late winter pruning 3 2 Techniques imposing a calibrated or temporary photosynthetic limitation Leaf removal Canopy shading Use of anti-transpirants Use of growth regulators Auxin Brassinazol Salicilic acid Cytochinins

From Poni et al. 2013, AJGWR, 19: 378-387.

Table 1. Vegetative growth, yield and vine balance determined on Sangiovese vines either non-defoliated (C) or defoliated pre- (DEF-I) or post-veraison (DEF-II) LA rem. (m 2 ) Total LA (m 2 ) Yield/ Vine (kg) Cluster weight (g) Berry weight (g) LA/Y (cm 2 /g) Carbon (gco 2 /m 2 *day) Carbon/ yield (mgco 2 / g FW) C 0 3.49 1.983 134 1.98 17.6 2.64 11.0 DEF-I 0.9335 2.36 2.241 140 1.92 10.5 3.51 9.8 DEF-II 0.9483 2.53 2.350 150 2.02 10.8 3.67 10.4 Sig. ** ** ns ns ns * ** ns From Poni et al. 2013, AJGWR, 19: 378-387.

Grape composition determined on Sangiovese grapevines either non-defoliated or defoliated pre- (DEF-I) and post-veraison (DEF-II) at the two different harvest dates. Harvest 04/09 Soluble solids (Brix) TA ph Color (mg/g) Phenolics (mg/g) Control 18.8 a 5.34 a 3.13 0.63 2.14 DEF-I 17.5 b 6.03 b 3.24 0.67 2.31 DEF-II 16.4 c 6.22 b 3.22 0.64 2.27 Sig. ** ** ns ns ns Harvest 11/09 Control - - - - - DEF-I 18.9 6.54 3.19 0.67 1.90 DEF-II 18.0 6.69 3.18 0.67 1.98 Sig. ns ns ns ns ns

Mechanical leaf removal: August 23 (4 weeks after veraison) Grape harvest: September 19 (27 days after leaf removal) Driven at 2 km/h (3-4 h/ha) Opening of a window about 50-60 cm tall above the cluster zone

Table 1. Leaf area (total and lateral fraction), yield components, grape composition and leaf-to-fruit ratio recorded at harvest in Sangiovese vines subjected to mechanized leaf removal applied in post veraison (D) or control (C). Data averaged over treatments and years in the absence of significant interactions. Parameter Defoliation Year C D Sig. 2011 2012 Sig. Total leaf area/vine (m 2 ) 4.28 a 2.80 b ** 3.88 a 3.20 b * Lateral leaf area/vine (m 2 ) 1.60 a 0.72 b ** 1.36 a 0.96 b * Clusters/vine 10.0 10.3 ns 10.6 9.8 ns Yield/vine (kg) 2.51 2.63 ns 3.26 a 1.88 b ** Cluster weight (g) 250.0 243.0 ns 310.0 a 183.0 b ** Berry weight (g) 2.05 2.03 ns 2.54 a 1.54 b ** Total soluble solids ( Brix) 23.9 a 22.7 b * 22.9 b 23.8 a * Titratable acidity (g/l) 6.35 6.15 ns 6.23 6.40 ns Must ph 3.26 3.31 ns 3.30 3.47 ns Anthocyanins (mg/cm 2 skin) 0.419 0.411 ns 0.344 b 0.486 a ** Total phenolics (mg/cm 2 skin) 0.59 0.57 ns 0.56 0.59 ns Leaf-to-fruit ratio (m 2 /kg) 1.77 a 1.13 b * 1.21 b 1.70 a * Means within rows designed by different superscript letters are significantly different by the Student-Newman-Keuls test. *, **, ns indicate significance at P 0.05 and 0.01 or not significant, respectively From Palliotti et al. (2013). AJGWR 19: 369-377

Palliotti, F. Panara, F. Famiani, P. Sabbatini, G.S. Howell, O. Silvestroni, and S. Poni Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 64:378-385 (2013) Best Paper Award 2013

Tradition Tradition Innovation Philosophy Be wise Be cool Do not apply the same recipes to design and manage vineyards in different places..you might incur in very bad surprises It is very difficult trying to force a vine to adjust to a crop level that is far below the level which balances the vine with the environment. Use winter and especially summer pruning techniques as tools to reach your targets. Do not feel them as "necessary" things to do.

Thanks to the early leaf removal, low transpiring team They eat a lot though

Thanks for your attention