Fruit quality and production of Vitis vinifera L. Chardonnay affected by partial defoliation in tropical highlands

Jaime Ernesto   Peña-Olmos; Fánor   Casierra-Posada

Fruit quality and production of Vitis vinifera L. Chardonnay affected by partial defoliation in tropical highlands

Autores

Jaime Ernesto Peña-Olmos

Fánor Casierra-Posada

Editor

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Descripción

Using a completely randomized design with twotreatments (50% defoliation and a control without defoliation)and six replications per treatment, the fruit quality and productionof grape plants subjected to early partial-defoliation in Villa deLeyva – Colombia were determined. Five-year-oldVitis viniferaL.'Chardonnay' plants were used as the plant material, planted in atrellis system with distances of 2.1 x 1 m. The plants were partiallydefoliated biweekly, removing every other recently emerged leaf ineach of the plants subjected to the defoliation treatment. 130 daysafter the start of the pruning, the number of harvested clusterswas determined for each of the evaluated plants along with thenumber of berries per cluster, the fresh weight of the clusters, theaverage berry weight, the fruit pH and diameter, the total solublesolids (TSS), the total titratable acidity (TTA) and the fruit maturityindex (MI). The average weights of the clusters and the berrieswere significantly higher in the plants subjected to a reducedfoliar area. All of the fruit quality parameter values increased withdefoliation with the exception of TTA, which was higher in thecontrol plants. Therefore, it was concluded that partial-defoliationhad a pronounced influence on the fruit quality and production ofthe 'Chardonnay' grapes.