Modeling Carbon Balance and Sugar Content of Vitis vinifera under Two Different Trellis Systems

Linda Salvi; Eleonora Cataldo; Sofia Sbraci; Francesca Paoli; Maddalena Fucile; Eleonora Nistor; Giovan Battista Mattii

doi:10.3390/plants10081675

Modeling Carbon Balance and Sugar Content of Vitis vinifera under Two Different Trellis Systems

Plants (Basel). 2021 Aug 15;10(8):1675. doi: 10.3390/plants10081675.

Authors

Linda Salvi¹, Eleonora Cataldo¹, Sofia Sbraci¹, Francesca Paoli¹, Maddalena Fucile¹, Eleonora Nistor², Giovan Battista Mattii¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50144 Florence, Italy.
² Department of Horticulture, Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 300645 Timișoara, Romania.

Abstract

Environmental factors might influence the carbon balance and sugar content in grapevine. In this two-year research, the STELLA software was employed to predict dry matter accumulation in Sangiovese vines, comparing the traditional vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and the single high wire (SHW) trellis systems. Every week, vegetative, eco-physiological and grape quality parameters were collected for 15 tagged vines per trellis system to set up the software. Significant differences in photosynthesis were recorded in 2014, with higher values in VSP (23-25% more). Shoot growth was significantly higher in VSP (20-25% more), whereas higher dry matter (30%) and yield (9-11% more) were detected for SHW. At harvest, berry composition suggested a slower ripening in SHW compared to VSP, which was linked to the shading of clusters in SHW. Finally, for the first time, linear regressions were found between measured berry sugar content and STELLA-estimated dry matter (R² = 0.96 in VSP; R² = 0.95 in SHW). This latter evidence allowed the estimation of berry sugar content, showing this software to be a practical tool to support winegrowers in decision making. Other studies are already underway to calibrate and validate the model for other varieties, training systems and environments.

Keywords: STELLA software; climate change; grapevine management; photosynthesis; quality; single high wire trellis; vertical shoot positioning trellis; yield.