Phenological stages of some grapevine cultivars in North Serbia: Historical data and current state

Abstract

Phenological stages of many grapevine cultivars appear in earlier parts of the year. However, we do not know how different cultivars are affected by this trend. The aim of this study was to compare the phenological stages of grapevine cultivars recorded in two different periods (1986–1998 and 2013–2018) in North Serbia (Vojvodina). The investigation was carried out on five red (Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot noir, Prokupac, Probus) and five white cultivars (Chardonnay, Muscat ottonel, Riesling italico, Smederevka and Petra). The phenological observations included the beginning of budburst, flowering and veraison. The beginning of all phenological stages in all cultivars in the period (2013–2018) occurred in earlier parts of the year, compared to the historical data. Local cultivars (Prokupac, Probus, Smederevka and Petra) showed less shift of the beginning of budburst in respect to the historical data (only six days earlier) compared to the international cultivars. One of the most important phenological stages, flowering, has been shifted ten days in the earlier part of the year. The biggest differences were observed for the beginning of veraison. Now, it occurs earlier from 9 (Petra) to 17 days (Merlot). Duration of the period from budburst to flowering was inconsistent and cultivars required almost the same number of days as it was in the past. However, the duration between flowering and veraison was shorter in the last six years. The biggest difference was observed in Merlot where the period between flowering and veraison has been seven days shortened.