The effects of early leaf removal and cluster thinning treatments on berry growth and grape composition in cultivars Vranac and Cabernet Sauvignon

Abstract

The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of early leaf removal and cluster thinning treatments in the Mediterranean climate on berry growth and how these two techniques affect phenolic profile (especially proathocyanidins) and color characteristics for later wine production. The study was conducted in 2011 in Podgorica, Montenegro. Two grapevine cultivars were selected to compare different ability in flavonoid accumulation: Vranac, with moderate accumulation and Cabernet Sauvignon, usually showing very good accumulation of polyphenols. Four treatments were compared: only leaf removal, only cluster thinning, leaf removal combined with cluster thinning, and no treatment that was used for control (control set). Early defoliation reduced the yield in both varieties. In Cabernet Sauvignon, defoliation initially delayed berry growth, but at the end, defoliation slightly affected almost all yield parameters (cluster weight, berry weight, and number of berries per cluster), while in cultivar Vranac, defoliation did not modify the berry growth and berry weight. In both varieties, cluster thinning did not affect the berry weight. In the treatments where both defoliation and cluster thinning was applied, a reduction of the cluster weight, berry weight, and berry numbers per cluster was observed. Cabernet Sauvignon showed a greater reactivity to the applied techniques, while Vranac was less reactive. At harvest, no damaged bunches (caused by sunburn) were found in defoliated treatment. It can be concluded that for both varieties, early defoliation and cluster thinning lead to better soluble solids accumulation than in the control set. The treatments lead to raised concentration of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins in both varieties. It is confirmed that the highest content of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins was in the skin extracts of the grapes where both treatments were applied. This is followed by the treatment where only defoliation was applied. The enhanced contents of these compounds per berry in grape variety Vranac are the result of increased synthesis, while in Cabernet sauvignon variety, increased content was due to the less berry weight. The best wine characteristics (alcohol, color intensity, color hue, total anthocyanins, total polyphenols) were found in products, where defoliation was applied.