Evolution of amino acids and amines during berry ripening in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo subjected to water deficit irrigation

Water deficit irrigation to grapevines reduces yield and berry growth altering its ripeningprocess, all of which may influence fruit composition and wine quality. Therefore, the goal ofthis work was analyze variations in fruit composition and specifically, in N-compounds underwater deprivation. The study was carried out using container-grown Tempranillo grapevinesgrown under controlled conditions in a greenhouse. Two irrigation treatments were imposed:a control (well watered), and a sustained deficit irrigation (SDI). Water deficit reduced yield,berry size and concentrations of main phenolic compounds. At harvest, the content of aminoacids and free ammonium was low in both treatments but SDI-treated berries showed asignificant accumulation of amines

Growth and water relations of field-grown Valencia orange trees under long-term partial rootzone drying

Climate, soil water potential (SWP), leaf relative water content (RWC), stem water potential (WPstem), stomatal conductance (gs), trunk, shoot and fruit growth of 'Valencia' orange trees were monitored during five consecutive seasons (2007â2012) to study water status and growth responses to irrigation placement or volume. 48 adult trees were exposed to conventional irrigation (CI, 100% of crop evapotranspiration on both sides of the rootzone), partial rootzone drying (PRD, 50% of CI water only on one alternated side of the rootzone) and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI water on both sides of the rootzone). Reducing irrigation volumes by 55% (DI) over CI increased leaf water deficit by 27% and reduced 'Valencia' fruit growth by 15% but not shoot or trunk growth. Similar water savings by PRD did not induce significant growth reductions. Differences in fruit growth rates determined 17% yield reduction in DI but not PRD trees. If we consider integrals of data across each season, PRD induced milder soil and leaf water deficit than DI but similar stomatal conductance. Tree daily water consumption (Etree) estimated from daily leaf transpiration was significantly lower in PRD and DI than in CI. Fruit growth efficiency (growth rate per unit Etree) was similar in all irrigation treatments, while shoot growth efficiency was higher in PRD than in CI. In PRD, an increased shoot growth efficiency rather than fruit growth efficiency is most likely due to water and assimilates being diverted from fruit to shoot growth under high VPD conditions. Although these results show good evidence of an irrigation placement effect inducing an advantage of the PRD strategy in 'Valencia' orange in terms of milder soil and leaf water deficit and more sustainable fruit growth compared to DI, PRD did not induce any significant advantage in terms of final yield over a simple reduction of irrigation volumes

Effects of water-deficit irrigation on hormonal content and nitrogen compounds in developing berries of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo

13 Págs., 3 Figs., 4 Tabls.Water-deficit irrigation to grapevines reduces plant growth, yield, and berry growth, altering the ripening process, all of which may influence fruit composition and wine quality. Therefore, the goals of this study were (1) to investigate the influence of the main endogenous berry hormones, abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), salicylic acid (SA), and jasmonic acid (JA), on berry growth and ripening under water-deficit conditions and (2) to analyze changes in fruit composition, specifically N compounds, under water deprivation. The study was carried out using container-grown Tempranillo grapevines grown under controlled conditions in a greenhouse. Two irrigation treatments were imposed: control (well-watered) and sustained deficit irrigation (SDI). Water deficit decreased leaf area and the source-to-sink ratio, reduced yield and berry size, and decreased concentrations of the main phenolic compounds. SDI also modified berry hormonal status. At the pea-size stage, SDI berries had lower IAA and higher JA and SA than nonstressed berries. At veraison (onset of ripening), accumulation of ABA was less accentuated in SDI than in control berries. At harvest, the content of amino acids and free ammonium was low in both treatments but SDI-treated berries showed a significant accumulation of amines. Results suggest that water restrictions to grapevines might be playing a physiological role in reducing berry growth through affecting hormone dynamics, phenolic synthesis, and the berry amino acid content and composition, which could compromise fruit quality. Possible roles of endogenous IAA controlling berry size and endogenous ABA and SA controlling levels of anthocyanins and flavonols at harvest are discussed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.This work was supported by Fundación Universitaria de Navarra (2011) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCINN BFU2011-26989), Spain. F. Morales thanks Gobierno de Aragón (A03 research group) for financial support. M. Niculcea was the recipient of a grant from Asociación de Amigos de la Universidad de Navarra.Peer reviewe

From vineyards to controlled environments in grapevine research: investigating responses to climate change scenarios using fruit-bearing cuttings

21 Pags.- 5 Tabls.- 6 Figs.This paper describes the use of fruit-bearing grapevine hardwood cuttings as a model system for grapevine research, translating some studies that are difficult to execute under field conditions in the vineyards to facilities under controlled conditions. This approach enables to simulate in greenhouses future climate conditions and to investigate putative responses of grapevine to climate change. An updated description of how to grow grapevine fruit-bearing cuttings is made, together with modifications to carry out studies of partial rootzone drying, regulated deficit irrigation studies and symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We summarize how extensive has been the use of fruit-bearing cuttings in grapevine research over the years, with special emphasis in those experiments that analyze the effects of factors related to climate change, such as elevated CO2, elevated temperature, water availability and UV-B radiation, on grapevine physiology, production and grape quality. A validation of the model is made, comparing results obtained with fruit-bearing cuttings with those obtained from vineyard-grown plants. We discuss some advantages of growing grapevines under elevated CO2 with an atmosphere depleted in 13C, using this stable isotope (13C) and others (15N, 54Fe or 57Fe, etc.) as tracers for C, N and other nutrient metabolism studies.This work was supported by the European Project INNOVINE Call FP7-KBBE-2011-6, Proposal No. 311775, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation (BFU2011-26989, AGL2011-30386-C02-02 and AGL2014-56075-C2-1-R), and Aragón Government (A03 Research Group).Peer reviewe

Effects of climate change scenarios on Tempranillo grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) ripening: response to a combination of elevated CO2 and temperature, and moderate drought

13 Pag., 9 Fig.Greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of predicted climate change (elevated CO2, 700 μmol CO2 mol−1 air vs. ambient; elevated temperature, 28/18°C vs. 24/14°C, day/night; and partial irrigation, 40% of field capacity vs. well-irrigated) on grape berry quality characteristics during ripening. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tempranillo) fruiting cuttings were used as experimental plant material. Climate change shortened the time between grape veraison and full maturity. At harvest time, many of the grape quality parameters determined were affected by the different grape maturity. The data were re-grouped according to total soluble solids to factor out changes due to the shortened time to maturity, and the effects on grape quality were then re-examined. Under current CO2 and temperature conditions, partial irrigation decreased berry malic acid concentration and facilitated anthocyanins extractability. Elevated CO2 and temperature decreased berry malic acid and total anthocyanins potential in well-irrigated plants and increased tonality index, irrespective of water availability. In partial irrigation conditions, elevated CO2 and temperature hindered the anthocyanins extractability. In summary, results indicate that climate change (elevated CO2, high temperature and partial irrigation) affects phenology and berry quality.Financial support from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BFU2008-01405/BFI), Fundación Universitaria de Navarra (Plan de Investigación de la Universidad de Navarra) and Caja Navarra is gratefully acknowledged. Fermín Morales wishes to thank Gobierno de Aragón (A03 research group) for financial support. Carolina Salazar-Parra was the recipient of a grant from Asociación de Amigos de la Universidad de Navarra.Peer reviewe