Abstract
Grapevine sustainability is impacted by the timing of dormancy initiation and freezing tolerance in fall and winter and chilling fulfillment and bud break in the spring. These traits have genetic and local temperature contributing factors; therefore, this study was undertaken to develop an understanding of these characteristics in four recently developed cold climate cultivars. The cold hardiness and chilling fulfillment profiles were monitored in Brianna, Frontenac gris, La Crescent and Marquette using differential thermal analyses and bud break assays. Bud cold hardiness of all cultivars increased with the declining temperatures from November through February, after which the buds began to lose freezing tolerance. There were significant differences in cold hardiness and chilling fulfillment between cultivars during the endodormant and ecodormant period of winter. Marquette had the greatest freezing tolerance from early November through midwinter suggesting it has potential as a sentinel cultivar for comparisons of new cold climate selections. Brianna was slower to acclimate and deacclimated more rapidly than the other cultivars. Chilling fulfillment under natural field or constant 4 °C conditions showed no main effect differences for chilling accumulation condition; however, there were significant cultivar, condition, and time point interactions, indicating the cultivars differed in chilling fulfillment responses.
Highlights
Freezing injury is one of the most problematic issue impacting production of grapevine in Northern regions of the United States [1,2,3]
The cultivars belonging to V. vinifera, have high grape quality; their winter freezing tolerance is reported to range between −10 ◦ C and −26 ◦ C [1,6,7]
Grapevine bud freezing tolerance is a critical factor in sustainable grape production; the results of this study indicate the importance of determining both freezing tolerance and chilling requirements of new cultivars to identify their potential success in northern cold climate regions
Summary
Freezing injury is one of the most problematic issue impacting production of grapevine in Northern regions of the United States [1,2,3]. The freezing tolerance of grapevine species and cultivars varies considerably with Vitis riparia having the greatest reported tolerance of −40 ◦ C [4,5]. The cultivars belonging to V. vinifera, have high grape quality; their winter freezing tolerance is reported to range between −10 ◦ C and −26 ◦ C [1,6,7]
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