Evaluation of carbon balance and carbohydrate reserves from forced (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Tempranillo vines

Elevated temperatures during berry ripening have been shown to affect grape quality. The crop forcing technique (summer pruning that ‘force’ the vine to start a new cycle) has been shown to improve berry quality by delaying the harvest date. However, yield is typically reduced on forced vines, which is attributed to vine low carbon availability soon after forcing and likely incomplete inflorescence formation. The present study aims to estimate the carbon balance of forced vines and evaluate vine responses to changes in carbon patterns due to forcing. Three treatments were studied on Tempranillo cultivar: non-forced vines (Control), vines forced shortly after fruit set (CFearly) and vines forced one month later at the beginning of bunch closure (CFlate). Whole canopy net carbon exchange was modelled and validated using two whole canopy gas exchange chambers. In addition, non-structural carbohydrate reserves at budburst, forcing date and harvest, were analysed. Yield, yield components and vegetative growth were also evaluated. Harvest date was delayed by one and two months in the CFearly and CFlate, respectively, which increased must acidity. However, yield was lower in the forced treatments compared to the Control (49% lower for CFearly and 82% for CFlate). In the second year, at the time when CFearly and CFlate dormant buds were unlocked (forced budburst), forced vines had significantly lower non-structural carbohydrates than Control vines at budburst. Although the time elapsed from budburst to reach maximum net carbon exchange was longer for the Control treatment (80 days) than for the forced treatments (about 40 days), average daily net carbon exchange until harvest was comparable between Control (60.9 g CO2/vine/day) and CFearly (55.9 g CO2/vine/day), but not for CFlate (38.7 g CO2/vine/day). In addition, the time elapsed from budburst to harvest was shorter in forced treatments (about 124 days) than for the Control (172 days). As a result, the cumulative net carbon exchange until harvest was reduced by 35% (CFearly) and 55% (CFlate) in the forced treatments. However, no differences in carbon reserves at harvest were observed between treatments partly helped by the higher source:sink ratio observed in forced than Control vines.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cumulative response of Tempranillo vines to the crop forcing technique and pre-forcing and post-veraison water stress in terms of yield and grape and wine quality

Elevated temperatures during berry ripening are detrimental to grape quality. The crop forcing technique (summer pruning that ‘forces’ the vine to start a new cycle) increases must acidity and malic acid concentration at harvest by delaying the date of veraison. However, little information is available on the sensitivity to water stress of forced vines. A 3-year trial was conducted to test three irrigation strategies in forced vines: a minimum threshold of mid-day stem water potential (Ψs) of −0.75 MPa before forcing (DI), a minimum Ψs threshold of −1.2 MPa only after veraison (RDI), and the combination of both treatments (DI + RDI). Results were compared to a non-forced treatment with a minimum Ψs threshold of −1.2 MPa after veraison (C-RDI). Must acidity increased, and pH decreased in the forced treatments. However, yield was reduced by 35% and irrigation requirements increased by 20% when comparing forced and unforced treatments. As a result, water use efficiency was reduced in forced treatments. Only after a dry spring did the, DI (11%) and DI + RDI (30%) treatments, save water compared to the C-RDI treatment. Moreover, although Ψs before forcing never fell below −0.75 MPa, a significant negative correlation (R2 = 0.76) was found between the integral of water stress before the vines were forced and the number of forced bunches per vine. Post-veraison water stress in forced vines reduced the polyphenol content of the wine. Our findings suggest that forced vines are extremely sensitive to even mild water stress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential irrigation scheduling by an automated algorithm of water balance tuned by capacitance-type soil moisture sensors

Automated software tools are required to undertake the routine tasks and decision-making involved in scheduling irrigation. A key issue in this topic is how to integrate sensors in the scheduling approach. The objectives of this research were to test, in the context of drip-irrigated orchards: (a) the suitability of FAO’s water balance method, locally adjusted by sensors, as the basis for the scheduling algorithm, (b) the suitability of capacitance-type soil moisture sensors, and an approach for their automated interpretation, for providing feedback to the scheduling algorithm, and (c) the performance of these combined approaches in the autonomous scheduling of irrigation in an apple orchard with heterogeneous vigour. The trial consisted of applying for two years the proposed approaches using an experimental web application, IRRIX, which scheduled irrigation of two irrigation sectors, which differed in tree size. The automated system was compared with manual scheduling by a classical water balance and with the actual evapotranspiration determined by a weighing lysimeter located in the same orchard. Results show that the irrigation applied by the automated approach in the sector of larger trees agreed with the ET determined by the lysimeter and, overall, with the scheduling by an experienced irrigator using a classical water balance. Meanwhile, as a result of a different feedback from soil moisture sensors, the same system reduced irrigation in the sector of smaller trees by a similar amount to that expected from the differences between the two sectors in the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation. This study illustrates that the method of water balance complemented with capacitance-type soil moisture sensors provides a sound basis for automated irrigation scheduling in orchards.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of the Variability in Soil Moisture Measurements by Capacitance Sensors in a Drip-Irrigated Orchard

Among the diverse techniques for monitoring soil moisture, capacitance-type soil moisture sensors are popular because of their low cost, low maintenance requirements, and acceptable performance. However, although in laboratory conditions the accuracy of these sensors is good, when installed in the field they tend to show large sensor-to-sensor differences, especially under drip irrigation. It makes difficult to decide in which positions the sensors are installed and the interpretation of the recorded data. The aim of this paper is to study the variability involved in the measurement of soil moisture by capacitance sensors in a drip-irrigated orchard and, using this information, find ways to optimize their usage to manage irrigation. For this purpose, the study examines the uncertainties in the measurement process plus the natural variability in the actual soil water dynamics. Measurements were collected by 57 sensors, located at 10 combinations of depth and position relative to the dripper. Our results showed large sensor-to-sensor differences, even when installed at equivalent depth and coordinates relative to the drippers. In contrast, differences among virtual sensors simulated using a HYDRUS-3D model at those soil locations were one order of magnitude smaller. Our results highlight, as a possible cause for the sensor-to-sensor differences in the measurements by capacitance sensors, the natural variability in size, shape, and centering of the wet area below the drippers, combined with the sharply defined variation in water content at the soil scale perceived by the sensors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large-scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i = 19.9 over 10,000 deg(2) to measure BAO to redshifts z < 0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Ly alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g < 22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15 < z < 3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Ly alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance d(A) to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z = 0.3 and z = 0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Ly alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D-A(z) and H-1(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z similar to 2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS

DataSheet_1_Evaluation of carbon balance and carbohydrate reserves from forced (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Tempranillo vines.docx

Elevated temperatures during berry ripening have been shown to affect grape quality. The crop forcing technique (summer pruning that ‘force’ the vine to start a new cycle) has been shown to improve berry quality by delaying the harvest date. However, yield is typically reduced on forced vines, which is attributed to vine low carbon availability soon after forcing and likely incomplete inflorescence formation. The present study aims to estimate the carbon balance of forced vines and evaluate vine responses to changes in carbon patterns due to forcing. Three treatments were studied on Tempranillo cultivar: non-forced vines (Control), vines forced shortly after fruit set (CFearly) and vines forced one month later at the beginning of bunch closure (CFlate). Whole canopy net carbon exchange was modelled and validated using two whole canopy gas exchange chambers. In addition, non-structural carbohydrate reserves at budburst, forcing date and harvest, were analysed. Yield, yield components and vegetative growth were also evaluated. Harvest date was delayed by one and two months in the CFearly and CFlate, respectively, which increased must acidity. However, yield was lower in the forced treatments compared to the Control (49% lower for CFearly and 82% for CFlate). In the second year, at the time when CFearly and CFlate dormant buds were unlocked (forced budburst), forced vines had significantly lower non-structural carbohydrates than Control vines at budburst. Although the time elapsed from budburst to reach maximum net carbon exchange was longer for the Control treatment (80 days) than for the forced treatments (about 40 days), average daily net carbon exchange until harvest was comparable between Control (60.9 g CO2/vine/day) and CFearly (55.9 g CO2/vine/day), but not for CFlate (38.7 g CO2/vine/day). In addition, the time elapsed from budburst to harvest was shorter in forced treatments (about 124 days) than for the Control (172 days). As a result, the cumulative net carbon exchange until harvest was reduced by 35% (CFearly) and 55% (CFlate) in the forced treatments. However, no differences in carbon reserves at harvest were observed between treatments partly helped by the higher source:sink ratio observed in forced than Control vines.</p

European muscle MRI study in limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R1/2A (LGMDR1/LGMD2A).

BACKGROUND Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R1/2A (LGMDR1/LGMD2A) is a progressive myopathy caused by deficiency of calpain 3, a calcium-dependent cysteine protease of skeletal muscle, and it represents the most frequent type of LGMD worldwide. In the last few years, muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a tool for identifying patterns of muscular involvement in genetic disorders and as a biomarker of disease progression in muscle diseases. In this study, 57 molecularly confirmed LGMDR1 patients from a European cohort (age range 7-78 years) underwent muscle MRI and a global evaluation of functional status (Gardner-Medwin and Walton score and ability to raise the arms). RESULTS We confirmed a specific pattern of fatty substitution involving predominantly the hip adductors and hamstrings in lower limbs. Spine extensors were more severely affected than spine rotators, in agreement with higher incidence of lordosis than scoliosis in LGMDR1. Hierarchical clustering of lower limb MRI scores showed that involvement of anterior thigh muscles discriminates between classes of disease progression. Severity of muscle fatty substitution was significantly correlated with CAPN3 mutations: in particular, patients with no or one "null" alleles showed a milder involvement, compared to patients with two null alleles (i.e., predicting absence of calpain-3 protein). Expectedly, fat infiltration scores strongly correlated with functional measures. The "pseudocollagen" sign (central areas of sparing in some muscle) was associated with longer and more severe disease course. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that skeletal muscle MRI represents a useful tool in the diagnostic workup and clinical management of LGMDR1

Construcció industrialitzada i innovació: reculls de treballs curs 2013-2014

2013/201