Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Effect of cluster thinning on productivity indicators and wine quality of the indigenous red wine grapevine cultivar ‘Kallmet’ in Mjeda, Shkodër, in north-western part of Albania
Author(s):
Elisabeta Susaj 1*,
Lush Susaj 2*, Fatmir Voci 2, Fran Brahimi 3, Bari Hodaj 2, Harallamb Paçe 4, Ylli Subashi 5, Bardhosh Ferraj 2Recieved Date: 2013-07-22, Accepted Date: 2013-10-24
Abstract:The study on the effects of cluster thinning of ‘Kallmet’ red wine grapevine cultivar was conducted during three consecutive years, 2010-2012, in Naraç, Mjedë, Shkodër, in the North-western part of Albania, in a 13-years old vineyard. The experimental plot was situated in an uniform hill with a sloping gradient of 5-6%, 32 m elevation, and a plantig density of 3030 vines ha-1 (2.2 m x 1.5 m). A randomized complete design (RCBD) with three replications and three variants (treatments) with a plot size of 10 vines for treatment in each replication was used. Three crop management practices were applied: Control (no cluster thinning), 25% cluster thinning (25% CT), and 50% cluster thinning (50% CT). Cluster thinning was applied at veraison, consisting on removing upper clusters on shoots. Leaf area per vine, number of clusters per vine, yield per plant, cluster weight, berry weight, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH of must and wine, alcohol fraction for volume, wine color intensity, total phenolics content, total anthocyanins content and free individual anthocyanins content, were recorded for a 3-year period. The data showed that two different cluster thinning treatments accelerated grape ripening by 6 and 12 days, reduced grape production per plant by 13.3% and 29.7%, raised cluster weight by 16% and 41.6%, and raised berry weight by 8% and 20.6%. There was a significant raise of soluble solids content in must by 1 and 1.4oBrix, while titratable acidity was reduced by 0.2 and 0.6 g L-1. Higher color intensity, higher alcohol content per volume, lower acidity and higher total and individual anthocyanins content were found in the wines produced from cluster thinning treatments. Cluster thinning significantly increased the concentration of delphinidin-3-monoglucoside, cyanidin-3-monoglucoside and petunidin-3-monoglucoside, while the concentration of the most abundant individual anthocyanins, malvidin-3-monoglucoside, did not differ significantly between treatments. The highest quality wine, considering alcohol content per volume, total phenolics content, total and individual anthocyanins content, was achieved by 50% CT, where leaf area per kg grape was 2.13 m2.
Keywords:Alcohol,
anthocyanins, cluster thinning, color intensity, indicator, ‘Kallmet’, phenolics, soluble solids, wine and qualityJournal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2013
Volume: 11
Issue: 3&4
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 1009-1014
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