Abstract
The relationships between differences in plant water status, induced by spatial variability in soil texture, and the changes in berry and wine composition were investigated in an irrigated Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinefera L.) vineyard for 2 years. A stratified and an equidistant grid were overlaid on the vineyard to characterize the soil texture by proximal sensing, soil sampling, and grapevine physiological and berry chemical development. Based on the mid-day stem water potential (Ψstem) integrals, the vineyard was divided into two functional homogenous zones: Zone 1 with higher water stress and Zone 2 with lower water. Zone 1 consistently had lower Ψstem, net carbon assimilation, and stomatal conductance in both years. Berry weight and titratable acidity were lower in Zone 1 at harvest. Zone 2 reached 26 and 24°Bx total soluble solids (TSS) at harvest in Years 1 and 2, respectively, with higher TSS values of 30 and 27°Bx in Zone 1. Ravaz index did not vary spatially. Fruits were harvested differentially in both years and vinified separately from the two zones. In Year 1, all berry skin anthocyanin derivatives, tri-, di- hydroxylated, and total anthocyanins concentrations were higher in Zone 2. However, in Year 2, only malvidin, tri-hydroxylated, and total anthocyanins were higher in Zone 1. There were no differences in wine flavonoids in Year 2 when harvest commenced earlier. In both years, Ψstem, berry weight, and TSS were directly related to soil bulk electrical conductivity (EC). Our results indicated vineyard variability stemmed from soil texture that affected long-term plant water status which does not affect spatial variability of Ravaz Index. In conclusion, our work provides fundamental knowledge about the applicability of soil bulk EC sensing in the vineyards, and its potential directional utilization by connecting proximal soil sensing to spatial distribution of whole-plant physiological performance together with berry and wine chemistry.
Highlights
There is natural spatial variability present in vineyards due to the variations in soil characteristics and topography (Brillante et al, 2016a)
Due to the relationship of soil bulk electrical conductivity (EC) on the amount of available water to plants reported in previous research (Rodríguez-Pérez et al, 2011; Brillante et al, 2014), this approach had been utilized to identify the variability in the plant physiology based on the soil sensing technologies and apply targeted management strategies (Bramley et al, 2011a), and our study provided more evidence toward the feasibility of it
Our work provided evidence of the connection between soil bulk EC sensing and whole plant physiology, and the effects of which cascaded to berry and wine chemistry
Summary
There is natural spatial variability present in vineyards due to the variations in soil characteristics and topography (Brillante et al, 2016a). It is difficult to obtain enough comprehensive information from the soil pits at the field scale. Soil Texture and Wine Chemistry directly affect the water availability for grapevines, which eventually determine the physiological performance of the plants (Brillante et al, 2015, 2016a). We previously reported the spatial variation of midday stem water potential affecting grapevine carbon assimilation and stomatal conductance of grapevine (Brillante et al, 2017; Yu and Kurtural, 2020). There is a lack of information about the effects on the chemical composition in the final wine, which would determine wine quality as perceived by consumers
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