Relationships between carbohydrates and reproductive development in chardonnay grapevine: impact of defoliation and fruit removal treatments during four successive growing seasons
Nathalie Vaillant-Gaveau,
Geneviève Wojnarowiez,
Anne-Noëlle Petit,
Lucile Jacquens,
Laurent Panigai,
Christophe Clement,
Florence Fontaine
Affiliations
Nathalie Vaillant-Gaveau
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Geneviève Wojnarowiez
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Anne-Noëlle Petit
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Lucile Jacquens
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Laurent Panigai
Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, 5 rue Henri-Martin, BP 135, 51204 Epernay Cedex, France
Christophe Clement
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Florence Fontaine
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vin de Champagne URVVC EA 4707, Laboratoire de Stress, Défenses et Reproduction des Plantes, UFR Sciences, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France
Aim: The present study was conducted in grapevines to evaluate the influence of source/sink disturbance on reserve restoration in the entire plant (trunk, roots) and the consequences on reproduction, yield, sugar yield, potential alcohol content and total acidity over four successive years of treatment. Methods and results: At véraison, either total defoliation or total fruit removal was performed on Chardonnay plants grown in vineyards. The impact was measured each year on reproductive parameters and after four years on both plant weight and carbohydrate content. Defoliation induced an alteration in carbohydrate distribution in the entire plant, as revealed by decrease of starch content and parallel increase of soluble sugar content. These modifications affected the number of inflorescences/clusters per plant the year after. By contrast, fruit removal resulted in a significant increase of carbohydrate reserves in the whole plant, although the efficiency of sexual reproduction was not improved the year after. Conclusion: Results confirm the close correlation between carbohydrate reserves and the efficiency of sexual reproduction. Moreover, grapevine is able to adapt the number of both inflorescences and flowers according to the amount of available carbohydrate reserves in perennial organs. Significance and impact of the study: The quality of the crop is affected by defoliation, as shown by the decrease in yield and sugar yield. However, the impact on potential alcohol content and total acidity was less pronounced.
