ISHS Acta Horticulturae 646: International Symposium on Irrigation and Water Relations in Grapevine and Fruit Trees
EFFECTS OF PARTIAL ROOT DRYING ON THE PHYSIOLOGY AND PRODUCTION OF GRAPEVINES |
| Authors: | C.R. Souza, J.P. Maroco, M.M. Chaves, T. Santos, A.S. Rodriguez, C. Lopes, M.L. Rodrigues, J.S. Pereira |
| Keywords: | Vitis vinifera, water stress, vegetative growth, photosynthesis, berry composition |
| Abstract:
We evaluated the effects of having alternating halves of the grapevine root system in drying soil vs. wet soil - Partial Root Drying (PRD) - on the physiology, growth, yield and berry quality, comparatively to traditional systems of irrigation. Two cultivars of Vitis vinifera L. were studied: cv. Moscatel (white) and cv. Castelão (red). The irrigation treatments were: non irrigated (NI); partial root drying (PRD, watered with 50 % ETc on one alternating side of the root system); full irrigated (FI, watered with 100% ETc), and deficit irrigated (DI, watered with 50% ETc on both sides of the roots). In both cultivars pre-dawn leaf water potential was highest in FI vines, intermediate in PRD and DI, and lowest in NI. A similar pattern was observed in leaf stomatal conductance and photosynthesis. In both cultivars vegetative growth was reduced in NI, PRD, and DI as compared to FI. As for yield, only FI showed a statistically significant increase as compared with NI vines, although PRD and DI exhibited intermediate values in both cultivars. In cv. Castelão a progressive decline in berry total phenols was observed from NI to FI with PRD and DI showing intermediate values. In cv. Moscatel, a significant reduction of phenols content was observed for treatments FI and DI as compared with NI and PRD. In conclusion, PRD irrigation reduced significantly the amount of water used by the plants without affecting berry quality, with only a slight reduction in yield, as compared with full-irrigated vines. | |
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