IDENTIFICATION OF PHENOLOGICAL PERIODS AND YIELD, QUALITY AND VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME WINE GRAPES GROWN IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION OF TURKEY

Abstract

It is possible to talk about the wine culture, from past to present, in the historical texture in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. This study was carried out in Belen district of Hatay province located in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Wine grape cultivars ‘Syrah’, ‘Merlot’, ‘Sangiovese’, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Sauvignon Blanc’ were researched for 2 years (2016 and 2017) in terms of phenological characteristics, effective heat summation (EHS) requests and maturity time, some quality characteristics and grapevine yield and vegetative growth. Under the conditions of the study, bud break of cultivars took place at the end of March, blooming in late April-early May, and maturity in late July-early August. Bud break-maturity period EHS requests of cultivars ranged from 1540.9 to 1999.2 d.d. (day.degree). Cultivars reached the optimum total soluble solids (TSS) values under the regional conditions, while the total acidity (TA) content was low in cultivar ‘Sauvignon Blanc’. In color cultivars, maturity index were found to be in the range of the optimum values. Berry weight values of the cultivars ranged from 1.06 g (‘Cabernet Sauvignon’) to 2.15 g (‘Sangiovese’). Ravaz index values were low due to high vegetative growth. It was foreseen that this situation could be put under control via summer pruning. It was concluded that wine grape could be grown at sufficient quality and yield level with cultivars ‘Sangiovese’, ‘Merlot’, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Syrah’ under the conditions of Belen where the study was conducted.

Keywords

• wine grape
• phenology
• vegetative growth
• yield
• quality