Effects of defoliation on quality attributes of Nero di Troia (Vitis vinifera L.) grape and wine

Antonietta Baiano; Antonio De Gianni; Maria Assunta Previtali; Matteo Alessandro Del Nobile; Vittorino Novello; Laura de Palma

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2015.06.007

Effects of defoliation on quality attributes of Nero di Troia (Vitis vinifera L.) grape and wine

Food Res Int. 2015 Sep:75:260-269. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.06.007. Epub 2015 Jun 6.

Authors

Antonietta Baiano¹, Antonio De Gianni², Maria Assunta Previtali², Matteo Alessandro Del Nobile², Vittorino Novello³, Laura de Palma²

Affiliations

¹ Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, degli Alimenti e dell'Ambiente, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy. Electronic address: antonietta.baiano@unifg.it.
² Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, degli Alimenti e dell'Ambiente, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
³ Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy.

PMID: 28454955
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.06.007

Abstract

Field studies were conducted in Puglia (Italy) to evaluate the influence of defoliation around cluster zones on grape and wine quality. Nero di Troia grapes were subjected to four different treatments: N: no leaf removal; E: leaf removal in the area of the clusters along the east side (at complete veraison); E/W: leaf removal in the area of the clusters along the east and west side (at complete veraison); and F: almost complete leaf removal along the west side (at complete veraison) and at pre-harvest also along the east side. Grapes of defoliated vines generally showed higher sugar content, lower titratable acidity, total flavonoids, flavonoids different from anthocyanins, and total phenolic content than grapes from non-defoliated vines while their total anthocyanin concentration was not affected by defoliation at a significant level. Concerning wines, alcohol content, residual soluble solids, different forms of anthocyanins but also volatile acidity were generally higher in samples from defoliated vines. Differences were also highlighted among the defoliation treatments: the best results in terms of dry matter, sugar and alcohol content were observed in the samples submitted to the more severe defoliation as a consequence of the higher light availability and berry temperature. Concerning the concentration of the individual phenolics, significant differences were highlighted for: caffeic and caftaric acids, peonidin- and malvidin-3-p-coumaroylglucoside, which were higher in the E wines; quercetin-3-glucoside, galactoside, and rhamnoside, and procyanidins, which were higher in F wines.

Keywords: (+)-Catechin (PubChem CID: 9064); Citric acid (PubChem CID: 311); Defoliation; Epicatechin (PubChem CID: 72276); Malic acid (PubChem CID: 525); Malvidin-3-glucoside (PubChem CID: 443652); Oenological parameters; Phenolics; Photosynthetic photon flux; Procyanidin B1 (PubChem CID: 11250133); Quality; Tartaric acid (PubChem CID: 8765); Vitisin B (PubChem CID: 16138152); d-Gluconic acid (PubChem CID: 10690).