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Impact of soil texture and water availability on the hydraulic control of plant and grape-berry development

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Abstract

Aims

All components of the soil-plant-atmosphere (s-p-a) continuum are known to control berry quality in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) via ecophysiological interactions between water uptake by roots and water loss by leaves. The scope of the present work was to explore how the main hydraulic components of grapevine influence fruit quality through changes in liquid- and gas-phase hydraulic conductance.

Methods

To reach our objectives, determinations of shoot growth, berry size and sugar content, leaf gas exchange, predawn leaf water potential (as a proxy of soil water potential), midday stem water potential and leaf water potential were performed in conjunction with anatomical measurements of shoot xylem. All measurements were conducted in two different cultivars (Cabernet franc and Merlot) and on three different soil types (clayey, gravelly, and sandy).

Results

Shoot xylem morphometric characteristics and whole-plant hydraulic conductance were influenced by cultivar and soil type. Differences in leaf gas exchange parameters and water potentials were determined by soil type significantly more than by cultivar. Between the two extremes (gravelly soil imposing drought conditions and sandy soil with easily accessible water) the clayey soil expressed an intermediate plant water consumption and highest sugar accumulation in berry.

Conclusions

Hydraulic and non hydraulic limitations to vine/berry interactions supported the conclusion that water availability in the soil overrides differences due to cultivar in determining the productive potential of the vineyard. Non hydraulic stomatal control was expected to be an important component on plants grown on the clayey soil, which experienced a moderate water stress. Possible links between hydraulic traits and berry development and quality are discussed.

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Abbreviations

101–14 MGt:

Millardet et de Grasset 101–14 rootstock (an hybrid of Vitis riparia × Vitis rupestris)

A:

Assimilation rate

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ci :

Intercellular CO2

C soil:

Clayey soil characterised by moderate water availability

E:

Transpiration rate

gs :

Stomatal conductance

G soil:

Gravelly soil characterised by low water availability

Kh :

Hydraulic conductance

Kh Sfleaf :

Hydraulic conductance of the whole vine plant multiplied for the total canopy area

Riparia Gloire de Montpellier rootstock:

Cultivar of Vitis riparia

Rsoil-leaf Rsoil-stem, Rstem-leaf :

Components of resistance along the s-p-a continuum

SO4:

Selection Oppenheim # 4 rootstock (an hybrid of Vitis riparia × Vitis berlandieri)

S soil:

Sandy soil characterised by unlimited water availability because of the presence of a water table within the reach of the roots

ΨPD :

Predawn leaf water potential

Ψleaf :

Leaf water potential

Ψstem :

Midday stem water potential

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Acknowledgments

We thank Claire Moueix and Macarena del Rio for help during field measurements and Mark Irvine and Elzbieta Ceglarska for the invaluable support. We are grateful to château Cheval Blanc for supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Health Unit (PLH), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), via Carlo Magno 1/a, 43126, Parma, Italy

    Sara Tramontini

  2. Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (AGRIFORFOOD), University of Turin, via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095, Grugliasco (TO), Italy

    Sara Tramontini, Marco Vitali & Claudio Lovisolo

  3. University of Bordeaux, ISVV, Ecophysiology and Functional Genomics of Grapevine, UMR 1287, 33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Cornelis van Leeuwen & Cyril Basteau

  4. Bordeaux Sciences Agro, ISVV, Ecophysiology and Functional Genomics of Grapevines, UMR 1287, 33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Cornelis van Leeuwen & Cyril Basteau

  5. University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1220 TCEM ENITA/INRA, 33175, Gradignan, France

    Jean-Christophe Domec

  6. INRA, ISVV, Ecophysiology and Functional Genomics of Grapevines, UMR 1287, 33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Agnès Destrac-Irvine

  7. Scientific Assessment Support (SAS),, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), via Carlo Magno 1/a, 43126, Parma, Italy

    Olaf Mosbach-Schulz

  8. Plant Virology Institute, National Research Council (IVV-CNR), Grugliasco unit, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095, Grugliasco (TO), Italy

    Claudio Lovisolo

Authors
  1. Sara Tramontini
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  2. Cornelis van Leeuwen
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  3. Jean-Christophe Domec
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  4. Agnès Destrac-Irvine
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  5. Cyril Basteau
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  6. Marco Vitali
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  7. Olaf Mosbach-Schulz
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  8. Claudio Lovisolo
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Correspondence to Sara Tramontini.

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Responsible Editor: Tibor Kalapos.

The positions and opinions presented in this article are those of the author alone and are not intended to represent the views or scientific works of EFSA.

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Tramontini, S., van Leeuwen, C., Domec, JC. et al. Impact of soil texture and water availability on the hydraulic control of plant and grape-berry development. Plant Soil 368, 215–230 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1507-x

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