Articles
The accumulation of nitrogen in annual parts of two young ‘Chardonnay’ vineyards
Article number
1432_17
Pages
125 – 130
Language
English
Abstract
A significant amount of nitrogen (N) is required for the annual vegetative and reproductive development of grapevines.
The shoots contain considerable amounts of N at flowering, while the N allocated to inflorescences is relatively small.
However, at harvest the N present in the grapes often exceed the amounts in the shoots.
Young vineyards might need higher amounts of N to reach early production, but application of fertilizer and grapevine requirements application rates could be unbalanced.
Better understanding of the N accumulation in the annual growth would assist with timing and amount of application during the growing season.
As part of a larger study, the aim was to estimate the seasonal N requirements in young vineyards to optimize N application in the early production phase.
The research was undertaken in two ‘Chardonnay’ vineyards in a major wine growing region in New South Wales, Australia, over three growing seasons.
These vineyards had the same soil type, the vines were planted in the same year, trained to a single bilateral cordon and had similar N applications, but irrigation type and amounts applied differed.
Both vineyards had four replicates consisting of 12 vines each, the central four of a plot were used for measurements and the others for shoot sampling at flowering, veraison and harvest.
Shoot N concentrations declined by a third from flowering to harvest, while the concentrations of N in the bunches was only a third at harvest compared to concentrations in the inflorescences.
However, the accumulation in the annual organs was most pronounced between flowering and veraison and highest in the third growing season after planting.
The amount of N accumulated in these organs at harvest differed more than two-fold between vineyards, indicating that N requirements in young vineyards should be adjusted to target yields and seasonal demands.
The shoots contain considerable amounts of N at flowering, while the N allocated to inflorescences is relatively small.
However, at harvest the N present in the grapes often exceed the amounts in the shoots.
Young vineyards might need higher amounts of N to reach early production, but application of fertilizer and grapevine requirements application rates could be unbalanced.
Better understanding of the N accumulation in the annual growth would assist with timing and amount of application during the growing season.
As part of a larger study, the aim was to estimate the seasonal N requirements in young vineyards to optimize N application in the early production phase.
The research was undertaken in two ‘Chardonnay’ vineyards in a major wine growing region in New South Wales, Australia, over three growing seasons.
These vineyards had the same soil type, the vines were planted in the same year, trained to a single bilateral cordon and had similar N applications, but irrigation type and amounts applied differed.
Both vineyards had four replicates consisting of 12 vines each, the central four of a plot were used for measurements and the others for shoot sampling at flowering, veraison and harvest.
Shoot N concentrations declined by a third from flowering to harvest, while the concentrations of N in the bunches was only a third at harvest compared to concentrations in the inflorescences.
However, the accumulation in the annual organs was most pronounced between flowering and veraison and highest in the third growing season after planting.
The amount of N accumulated in these organs at harvest differed more than two-fold between vineyards, indicating that N requirements in young vineyards should be adjusted to target yields and seasonal demands.
Authors
B. Holzapfel
Keywords
nitrogen, annual growth, accumulation, annual growth, fertiliser
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