Calcium particle films promote artificial shading and photoprotection in leaves of American grapevines (Vitis labrusca L.)

Abstract

Other materials with potential for the production of particle films for agriculture, besides the traditional use of kaolin, can present solar radiation reflection properties and promising results for temperature reduction and mitigate effects of climate change and adverse conditions on grapevine cultivation. The objective of this work was to verify the hypothesis that CaO and CaCO3 particles films could promote shading effects, influence on chlorophyll content, temperature and energetic metabolism of photosynthesis during the establishment of two American grapevine cultivars (Vitis labrusca L.) cv. Early Isabella and cv. Bordô (Ives) during the dry and hot summer in Northeast Brazil. The results showed that the films were efficient to provide artificial shading and to increase chlorophyll content (chl a, chl b and total chl) and to reduce chl a/b ratio. The temperature of the leaves (Tleaf) was significantly reduced in plants with films, which also provided greater efficiency to control the energy absorption and the electrons fluxes energized by the photosystems and the electron transport chain, especially for 'Bordô'. The results also lead to the need for additional studies to adapt the concentrations to the cultivars and of interactions between leaves and materials. Beneficial and promising effects for stress mitigation on grapevine cultivars were verified in this study, although it was also verified that the cultivar 'Early Isabella' presented better adaptation to the local climatic conditions.