Project Number
WW IS 10-03

Project title
Influence of rootstocks development and functioning on berry growth and ripening of Pinotage

Project leader
Serra, I

Institution
University of Stellenbosch. Department of AgriSciences. Department of Viticulture and Oenology

Team members
Deloire, A
Myburgh, P
Nieuwoudt, H H
Kraeva-Deloire, E

Project description
Grapevines are grafted onto rootstock mainly because of phylloxera problems. Irrespective of this, the influence of root growth and functioning on the plant physiology and biochemistry is basic. The roots have many important roles, such as anchorage of the plant in the soil; to supply the plant with water, minerals, nitrogen (Fitter, 1987) and hormones (Davies et al., 2005; Dodd, 2005; Jiang and Hartung, 2008).

The root development and functioning are related to the type of soil and its composition, but are also dependent on the plant growth and functioning (Archer et al., 1988). The relationship between the root system and the canopy is mediated by the root-to-shoot signalling, which is a process where signal molecules (other than water and nutrients) are supplied by the root system regulating mainly the shoot growth and water use (Dodd, 2005). The intensity of the root to shoot ABA signal is regulated on four different anatomical levels, namely the rizosphere, the root cortex, the stem and the leaves (Jiang and Hartung, 2008).

Pinotage is a red wine cultivar specific to South Africa and which has been well studied. These studies have mainly focused on wine composition characterisation (de Beer et al. 2006b, 2006c; Rossouw and Marrais, 2004; van Wyk et al. 1979) and in technology for the production of quality wines (de Beer et al., 2005, 2006a, 2008a, b.; Marais 2003a and 2003b; Schwarz et al., 2004).

Therefore, there is a lack of knowledge on the direct or indirect effects of the root development and functioning on the progression of berry growth and ripening. It is important to generate new knowledge on this topic, regarding to questions on vine functioning (Pinotage could be a model for that purpose among the red cultivars). It is also important to generate information on Pinotage berry dynamic of ripening for the wine industry.

This study will help to gain an understanding on the role of rootstock and root functioning, at the plot, vine and bunch levels, in South Africa, on the progression of Pinotage ripening and harvest potentiality regarding as well the style of wine. This study has a particular relevance to the South African wine industry as Pinotage is a South African cultivar and is therefore mainly cultivated in this country and not elsewhere in the world. Information generated therefore will be unique

Poster(s)
Serra, I, Deloire, A J, Myburgh, P and Schmeisser, M. 2011. Preliminary results on the interaction between rootstocks and vine water status on Vitis vinifera L. cv Pinotage physiology. Poster presented at the 13th Latin American Congress of Viticulture and Enology. 21-23 November, Santiago, Chile.

Serra, I, Strever, A E, Myburgh, P A, Schmeisser, M and Deloire, A. 2012. Stomal density of grapevine leaves (Vitis vinifera L. cv Pinotage) responds to light and water status. Poster presented at the 34th National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture. 14-16 November, Somerset West, South Africa.

Serra, I, Strever, A, Myburgh, P, Schmeisser, M and Deloire, A. 2013. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv Pinotage) leaf stomatal size and density as modulated by different rootstocks, scion water status and irradiance. Poster presented at the 9th International Symposium on Grapevine Physiology and Biotechnology. 21-26 April, Santiago, Chile.

Presentation(s)
Serra-Stepke, I, Deloire, A J and Myburgh, P. 2010. Quantification of root growth using an image analysis tool. Presentation at the 1st Wine Sciences Research Day. University of Stellenbosch. Department of Viticulture and Enology, 26 November, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Serra, I, Deloire, A J, Myburgh, P and Schmeisser, M. 2011. Preliminary results on the interaction between rootstocks and vine water status on Vitis vinifera L. cv Pinotage physiology. Paper presented at the 13th Latin American Congress of Viticulture and Enology. 21-23 November, Santiago, Chile.

Article
Deloire, A, Coetzee, Z A, Muller, M, Brand, J, Van der Rijst, M, Serra-Stepke, I. 2011. Optimal berry ripeness: The importance of colour, Vitis Magazine, v. 43 (p. 44-48)

Serra-Stepke, I. 2012. Living with almost no water: When surviving is just a matter of root to shoot communication, New Voices in Science, (p. 10-11)

Serra Stepke, I, Strever, A E, Myburgh, P, Schmeisser, M, Deloire, A. 2014. Review: The interaction between rootstocks and cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) to enhance drought tolerance in grapevine, Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, v. 20 (1) (p. 1-14)
Article.pdf

FinalReport.pdf