Effect of Organic and Conventional Production Methods on Fruit Yield and Nutritional Quality Parameters in Three Traditional Cretan Grape Varieties: Results from a Farm Survey
Gultakin Hasanaliyeva,
Eleni Chatzidimitrou,
Juan Wang,
Marcin Baranski,
Nikolaos Volakakis,
Panagiotis Pakos,
Chris Seal,
Eduardo A. S. Rosa,
Emilia Markellou,
Per Ole Iversen,
Vanessa Vigar,
Adam Willson,
Bronwyn Barkla,
Carlo Leifert,
Leonidas Rempelos
Affiliations
Gultakin Hasanaliyeva
Department of Sustainable Crop and Food Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Universita Catollica del Sacro Cuore, I-29122 Piacenza, Italy
Eleni Chatzidimitrou
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Juan Wang
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Marcin Baranski
Laboratory of Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Nikolaos Volakakis
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Panagiotis Pakos
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Chris Seal
Human Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
Eduardo A. S. Rosa
Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal
Emilia Markellou
Department of Phytopathology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI), 14561 Athens, Greece
Per Ole Iversen
Department of Nutrition, IMB, University of Oslo, Sognsvannsveien, 0372 Oslo, Norway
Vanessa Vigar
NatMed, Southern Cross University, Military Road, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Adam Willson
Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Military Road, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Bronwyn Barkla
Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Military Road, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Carlo Leifert
Department of Nutrition, IMB, University of Oslo, Sognsvannsveien, 0372 Oslo, Norway
Leonidas Rempelos
Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
The antioxidants found in grapes and wine have been linked to health benefits in humans, but may be affected by agronomic parameters, grape type/variety, and processing. Here, we report results of a farm survey which investigated the effects of production system (organic vs. conventional) and grape variety on fruit yield, total antioxidant activity/capacity (TAA, assessed by the Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays), and total concentrations of total phenolics (TPC) and anthocyanins (TAC) in grapes of one red (Kotsifali) and two white (Villana and/or Vidiano) traditional Cretan grape varieties. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that grape variety choice had a more substantial effect on TPC, TAA, and TAC than primary production protocols, and significant interactions were identified between production system and grape variety choice for TAATEAC. Specifically, TAATEAC was significantly (57%) higher in organic than conventional Vidiano grapes, while there was no significant effect of production system on TAATEAC in Kotsifali and Villana grapes. As expected from previous studies, the TAC was substantially higher in red Kotsifali grapes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) identified grape variety as the only strong explanatory variable/driver for yield, TPC, TAA, and TAC of table grapes, and positive associations were detected between the variety Vidiano and both TPC and TAATEAC. All other explanatory variables included in the RDA (including supplementary irrigation, orchard orientation, production system, soil type, vineyard age, plant density, and fertiliser inputs) explained only a small proportion of the additional variation.
