DELAY OF BUD BREAK ON ‘EDELWEISS’ GRAPEVINES WITH MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS OF AMIGO OIL AND NAA

‘Edelweiss’ is an important grape cultivar grown in the Midwestern part of the USA. This grapevine is tolerant to the extreme winter temperatures which can be experienced in the areas where it is most widely grown. However, ‘Edelweiss’ is one of the earliest cultivars in the vineyard to break bud, making it very susceptible to late spring freezes.
The primary buds of ‘Edelweiss’ produce a significant amount of fruit, while unlike many other hybrids, the secondary and tertiary buds will have diminished yields, thus making it important to protect the primary buds from a late freeze.
The objective of this research was to determine if multiple applications of Amigo Oil or naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) had a greater effect on bud delay when compared to single applications. ‘Edelweiss’ vines were treated with one, two, and three applications of Amigo Oil or NAA at monthly intervals starting in early January. The purpose of the Amigo Oil and NAA application was to delay bud break without affecting desired characteristics such as yield or fruit composition. The Amigo Oil was applied at 10% concentration (v/v) and the NAA at 1,000 mg/L with a custom built all-terrain vehicle (atv) sprayer.
In previous studies single applications have led to signif¬icant delay in bud break on several different cultivars ranging from 3 days up to 3 weeks.
No negative effects have been found when using 10% v/v oil or 1,000 ppm NAA on fruit characteristics, harvest date, or bud health.
Grape growers in climates with the potential of late spring freezes may consider the use of Amigo Oil or NAA as a potential means to protect their vines from frost injury.

XII International Symposium on Plant Bioregulators in Fruit Production

B.A. Loseke, P.E. Read, I.M. Qrunfleh

Geneva Double Curtain, naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), plant hormone, growing degree days, viticulture

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1042.5