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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #310834
Title: Foliar applied abscisic acid increases 'Chardonnay' grapevines (Vitis vinifera) bud freezing tolerance during Autumn cold acclimation

Author
item DAMI, IMED - The Ohio State University
item LI, SHOUXIN - The Ohio State University
item BOWEN, PATRICIA - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item BOGDANOFF, CARL - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item Shellie, Krista
item WILLWERTH, JIM - Brock University

Submitted to: HortTechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2015
Publication Date: 6/18/2015
Citation: Dami, I.E., Li, S., Bowen, P.A., Bogdanoff, C.P., Shellie, K., Willwerth, J. 2015. Foliar applied abscisic acid increases 'Chardonnay' grapevines (Vitis vinifera) bud freezing tolerance during Autumn cold acclimation. HortTechnology. 25:293-305.

Interpretive Summary: The objective of this study was to find out if the plant growth regulator abscisic acid could be used as a foliar spray to increase the cold hardiness of the winegrape cultivar Chardonnay, and to determine the most effective time of application. The canopy of grapevines were sprayed with a commercially available solution of abscisic acid at a concentration of 500 mg/L at three different stages of berry development in field trial sites located in four distinct winegrape production regions in the United States (Idaho and Ohio) and Canada (British Colombia and Niagara). Results showed that foliar application of abscisic acid increased the freezing tolerance of buds during autumn cold acclimation and that applications made when berries were beginning to ripen or shortly thereafter were more effective than applications made at fruit maturity. The results from this research identified foliar abscisic acid application as a new cultural practice with the potential to mitigate economic loss from cold injury in winegrape production regions that experience early autumn cold weather events.

Technical Abstract: Economic loss due to cold weather events is a major constraint to winegrape-related industries where extreme and/or fluctuating winter temperatures induce injury and required remedial retraining and replanting increases production costs and lowers yield and fruit quality. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a foliar application of abscisic acid (ABA) could increase the freezing tolerance (FT) of field-grown, ‘Chardonnay’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera) and whether its effectiveness can be influenced by the phenological timing of the application. Mature, ‘Chardonnay’ grapevines were treated with a foliar application of ABA at a concentration of 500 mg·L-1 at vine phenological stages corresponding to 50% véraison, post-véraison, and post-harvest. Results from field trial sites located in four distinct winegrape production regions in the U.S. (Idaho and Ohio) and Canada (British Colombia and Ontario) showed that foliar application of ABA increased bud FT, primarily during autumn cold acclimation. Foliar ABA application had no consistent influence on bud FT in mid-winter or during spring deacclimation, or on the onset of budburst. The phenological timing of application influenced ABA effectiveness, although results were inconsistent among locations. Among most locations, applications made at véraison or post-véraison were more effective than applications made post-harvest. No phytotoxic response was detected nor any adverse changes in yield components or berry composition. We conclude that a foliar application of ABA increased bud FT during autumn cold acclimation. Application of ABA is a potential cultural practice for mitigating economic loss from cold injury in production regions with early autumn cold weather events.