Project Number
US SS EL 1
Project title
The Effect of Different Scion/Rootstock Combinations on Grapevine Water Status
Project leader
Lategan, E L
Institution
ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij
Team members
Myburgh, P A
Howell, C A
Hoffman, E
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Objectives and Rationale
Knowledge of how different scion cultivars are affected by similar water constraints and atmospheric conditions, and how different rootstocks contribute to the water potential of grapevines, is lacking. By understanding how different cultivars are affected by the aforementioned conditions, the water constraint thresholds for cultivars without known thresholds can be determined using previous research.
Methods
Establish five red cultivar scions, grafted onto four different rootstocks and own-rooted, in 105 L pots with a good water holding capacity, soil to investigate the effect of water availability and different genetic combinations under the same climatic conditions on the leaf water status response of the different combinations near Stellenbosch.
Key Results
Unfortunately, the project was marred with misfortunes and problems that resulted in the prolongation of the establishment of experimental grapevines and ultimately did not allow the primary objective of exposing well-developed grapevines to an array of similar soil water availabilities under the same climatic conditions and investigating these effects on the plant water status of different genetic combinations.
Key Conclusion of Discussion
The developed Arduino Logging system will contribute to making irrigation research affordable in the near future. The soil water retention model developed during the project still needs to be validated and further developed to add value to producers by determining soil water holding capacities by conducting soil texture analysis in commercial laboratories.
Take Home Message for Industry
Since the application of concurrent water constraints was not possible during the establishment phase of the project, how different scion/rootstock combinations would respond under the same climatic and soil water availabilities has not been answered yet. It is highly recommended that, at the conclusion of the Water Flagship 4 project, the initial proposed water constraint treatments need to be applied and the plant water potential responses quantified.
Presentation(s)
Howell, C, Myburgh, P, Lategan, E, Mulidzi, R. 2016. Use of winery wastewater as a resource for irrigation of vineyards in different environments (KSA4:K5/2564//4). Paper presented at Information Sharing Workshop-WRC, DWS and Winetech at WRC Office. 12 May, Pretoria, South Africa.