DroughtStressEffectsonVineGrowth,Function,Ripening.docVIP

Drought Stress Effects on Vine Growth, Function, Ripening and Implications for Wine Quality Alan N. Lakso and Robert M. Pool Cornell University Dept. of Horticultural Sciences NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva In wine production the role of water stress has been debated for many years. It has become clear that neither end of the spectrum of water stress is optimal for desired balances of yields and wine quality (Seguin, 1983). We will discuss how the range of water status affects vines and wines in this section. Following sections address the fundamentals of water balance in vineyards and how irrigation may fit, and the effects of drought stresses as seen in 1999 on vine performance and management options. Excessive water. The wet end tends to induce excessive vegetative growth that often leads to dense canopies, large dilute berries and compact clusters, poor fruit exposure and disease problems. All of these lead to poor fruit and wine quality. Since in temperate climates like ours we may have years of very low stress due to rain and cool temperatures, approaches have been developed to try to overcome these limitations. Canopy management to control the canopy form and to keep the canopy open via shoot positioning, topping, and leaf pulling has been very effective in many cases. Also, canopy division was first proposed for juice grapes by Nelson Shaulis in the Geneva Double Curtain , and later adapted to the Open Lyre by Alain Carbonneau for upright varieties. Canopy division spreads the canopy out to reduce canopy density and improve fruit exposure and utilize vigor rather than fight it. But it also increases light interception by the vine, which causes more water use and therefore somewhat more water stress. Additional approaches of encouraging competitive cover crops to use up the excess water have been successful in some cases, but the success depends on how wet it is and how deep the soil is (if the soil is deep the grape roots may not