Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Influence of rootstock and irrigation level on water relations of grapevines grown under tropical conditions

Author(s):

Reinaldo Pire ¹, Aracelys Pereira ¹, Julio Díez ², Elías Fereres ³

Recieved Date: 2010-01-15, Accepted Date: 2010-04-07

Abstract:

Studies in the tropics on drought tolerance of grapevine are scarce or non existent. The objective of this test was to evaluate physiological parameters such as water status and gas exchange in the rootstock ‘Criolla Negra’ (CN) and the cultivars Chenin Blanc (Ch) and Syrah (Sy) to provide information on their drought tolerance capacity. The trial was conducted with plants grown in containers in Tarabana (10°02′ N; 500 m above sea level), Lara State, Venezuela. The vines were combined to conform five types of plant material: CN, Ch, Sy, Ch grafted on CN (Ch/CN), and Sy grafted on CN (Sy/CN). Irrigation was applied at three levels: high (R1), medium (R2), and low (R3). The resulting 15 treatments were evaluated in a completely randomized design with 12 repetitions. On the average, the minimum midday leaf water potential (LWP) was -1.57 MPa in R3, and the maximum predawn LWP -0.25 MPa in R1, with no differences among the plant material. The rootstock showed the highest stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rate (307 mmol·m^-2·s^-1 and 15.9 mmol·m^-2·s^-1) in R1 surpassing the rest of plant material, although there were no differences among them in R3. Also, there was a slight but consistent trend of grafted cultivars to overcome the own rooted ones. In general, there was a high correlation between stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rate, but the degree of association decreased with drought. The rootstock developed an osmotic adjustment of 0.39 MPa in drought conditions, significantly surpassing the rest of plant material, a condition that could confer it some degree of drought tolerance.

Keywords:

Irrigation, water status, drought tolerance, soil moisture, water relations, gas exchange, stomatal conductance, grapevine, Vitis, rootstock, grafting

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2010
Volume: 8
Issue: 2
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 703-709

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