Delay of the Ripening of Wine Grapes: Effects of Specific Phytotechnical Methods on Harvest Parameters

• DOI: 10.20944/preprints202306.1032.v1
• Publication Date: 2023-06-15T00:45:12Z
• Authors: Gizella Jahnke; Barna Árpád Szőke; Szabina Steckl; Áron Pál Szövényi; Gyöngyi Knolmajer...; Csaba Németh; Botond Gyula Jenei; Diána Ágnes Nyitr...
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; <i>Vitis vinifera</i>; climate change; DMR; S; DMR; harvest time; <i>Vitis vinifera</i>; climate change; global warming; Agriculture; 15. Life on land; global warming; harvest time

Due to climate change, the sugar content of grapes in Hungary has increased so the high alcohol content alone can make wines disharmonious. In most vintages, this phenomenon is only a problem for early-ripening varieties. In order to prevent and treat this difficulty, we have been carrying out experiments in grape canopy management for four years with the aim of delaying ripening and thus reducing the sugar content of the grapes. The experiments were set up on an early (Pinot noir) and a late (Welshriesling) variety; two treatments (leaf re-moval - LR and short topping - ST) were applied and compared to untreated control in the years 2019-2022. Our results showed that must sugar yield was significantly reduced in all four years and for both of cultivars, while the other measured parameters (yield, acidity, pH, Botrytis infection) were not or lightly affected.