光温耦合的中国温带地区旱柳花期时空格局模拟

建立基于温度和光周期驱动的旱柳花期物候模型,旨在寻找影响旱柳花期时空变化的主要气象因子,揭示调控植物开花时间的生态机制,还可为改善柳絮造成的环境污染和花粉过敏等人类健康问题提供参考信息和依据。利用中国气象局农业气象观测网提供的中国温带地区1982-2011年49个站点的旱柳开花始期、盛期和末期观测资料及平行的逐日气象数据,分别对6种模型（简单积温模型、温度三基点模型、八时段温度模型、简单积温-日长模型、温度三基点-日长模型和八时段温度-日长模型）进行了参数率定和假设检验,根据外部检验结果,从中选出针对旱柳3个花期的最优物候模型,进而利用连续地理气象数据和最优物候模型重建了1982-2011年旱柳开花始期、盛期、末期和花期长度的时空变化特征。结果表明：光温耦合的物候模型对旱柳花期的模拟效果和外推效果优于仅基于温度的模型。旱柳开花始期和盛期最优模型均为八时段温度-日长模型,末期为温度三基点-日长模型,说明光周期和温度可能是影响旱柳花期开始、繁盛和结束时间的主要气象因子。同时,优选出的物候模型能够较准确地对不同年份和不同地区的旱柳花期进行模拟及预测。重建的1982-2011年旱柳平均开花始期、盛期和末期日期分别为4月24日、4月28日和5月3日,平均花期长度为9 d,始期、盛期和末期出现日期呈现出从海拔低到高、从南向北、从西向东逐渐推迟的空间格局。1982-2011年旱柳开花始期、盛期和末期在大部分地区呈提前趋势,呈显著提前趋势的面积分别占总面积的49.78%、50.01%和53.40%,花期长度变化差异不显著。     

Towards the adaptation of grapevine varieties to climate change: QTLs and candidate genes for developmental stages

The genetic determinism of developmental stages in grapevine was studied in the progeny of a cross between grapevine cultivars Riesling and Gewurztraminer by combining ecophysiological modelling, genetic analysis and data mining of the grapevine whole genome sequence. The dates of three phenological stages, budbreak, flowering and veraison, were recorded during four successive years for 120 genotypes in the vineyard. The phenotypic data analysed were the duration of three periods expressed in thermal time (degree-days): 15 February to budbreak (Bud), budbreak to flowering (Flo) and flowering to veraison (Ver). Parental and consensus genetic maps were built using 153 microsatellite markers on 188 individuals. Six independent quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for the three phases. They were located on chromosomes 4 and 19 for Bud, chromosomes 7 and 14 for Flo and chromosomes 16 and 18 for Ver. Interactions were detected between loci and also between alleles at the same locus. Using the available grapevine whole-genome sequences, candidate genes underlying the QTLs were identified. VvFT, on chromosome 7, and a CONSTANS-like gene, on chromosome 14, were found to colocalise with the QTLs for flowering time. Genes related to the abscisic acid response and to sugar metabolism were detected within the confidence intervals of QTLs for veraison time. Their possible roles in the developmental process are discussed. These results raise new hypotheses for a better understanding of the physiological processes governing grapevine phenology and provide a framework for breeding new varieties adapted to the future predicted climatic conditions.     

Performance of several models for predicting budburst date of grapevine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitis vinifera</Emphasis> L.)

The budburst stage is a key phenological stage for grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), with large site and cultivar variability. The objective of the present work was to provide a reliable agro-meteorological model for simulating grapevine budburst occurrence all over France. The study was conducted using data from ten cultivars of grapevine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chasselas, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon, Syrah, Ugni Blanc) and five locations (Bordeaux, Colmar, Angers, Montpellier, Epernay). First, we tested two commonly used models that do not take into account dormancy: growing degree days with a base temperature of 10°C (GDD₁₀), and Riou’s model (RIOU). The errors of predictions of these models ranged between 9 and 21 days. Second, a new model (BRIN) was studied relying on well-known formalisms for orchard trees and taking into account the dormancy period. The BRIN model showed better performance in predicting budburst date than previous grapevine models. Analysis of the components of BRIN formalisms (calculation of dormancy, use of hourly temperatures, base temperature) explained the better performances obtained with the BRIN model. Base temperature was the main driver, while dormancy period was not significant in simulating budburst date. For each cultivar, we provide the parameter estimates that showed the best performance for both the BRIN model and the GDD model with a base temperature of 5°C.     

华北区域杨柳科树木春季物候期模拟

杨柳科树木是我国华北区域植树造林的主要树种,但春季的杨柳飞絮问题既影响区域大气环境质量,也对人体健康造成一定的危害,因此准确预报杨柳科树木的春季物候期具有重要现实意义。基于中国气象局农业气象观测网和中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所中国物候观测网提供的华北区域1963—2018年59个站点的4种杨柳科树木(垂柳、旱柳、加拿大杨、毛白杨)的4个春季物候期(开花始期、盛期、末期和果实或种子成熟期)观测数据,对3种基于逐日气温序列构建的春季物候过程模型(简单积温模型、温度三基点模型和冷激-三基点模型)进行了参数率定和优选,分别对这16个基于物种-物候期的最优春季物候模型进行了外部检验。内部模拟结果表明,各模型对同一物种-物候期模拟效果相差不大,均方根误差(RMSE)介于5.5—11.6d,各模型对同一物种发生较早的物候期模拟效果相对更好。通过赤池信息准则(AIC)判定,上述16个基于物种-物候期的最优春季物候模型中,有11个选择简单积温模型,有5个选择冷激-三基点模型,其中,垂柳和旱柳的最优春季物候模型都选择了简单积温模型,加拿大杨的各春季物候期对2种物候模型均有选择,毛白杨的各春季物候期则全部...     

Apple (Malus pumila var. domestica) phenology is advancing due to rising air temperature in northern Japan

Recent studies show advancing onset of plant growing season in many regions for the last several decades. With the well‐established dependence of plant phenology on temperature, these trends are interpreted as an indication of global warming. For several decades, however, other determinants of plant phenology, e.g. varieties and trends in managed systems, may have changed and confounded the phenological trends. In this study, we tested if long‐term changes in phenology of apple (Malus pumila var. domestica) are attributable to long‐term changes in temperature by comparing the phenological response to long‐term trend in air temperature, which is of our interest, with that to year‐to‐year fluctuation in air temperature, which should represent the real effect of temperature on phenology. We collected records of air temperature and phenological events (budding and flowering) in apple from 1977 to 2004 at six locations in Japan. Linear trends in flowering showed advancing rate in the range from 0.21 to 0.35 day yr^?1, statistically significant at three locations (P<0.05). We also found a warming trend in mean air temperature throughout March and April, with which flowering was closely correlated, in the range from 0.047 to 0.077 °C yr^?1, statistically significant at five locations (P<0.05). We separated the temperature time‐series into two components: a long‐term trend and a year‐to‐year fluctuation, by fitting smoothing spline to the trend and taking the residuals as the anomaly. We then fit a multiple regression model of phenological response to air temperature with separate coefficients for long‐term trend and anomaly. Flowering date responded to the long‐term trend at ?3.8 day °C^?1 and to the anomaly at ?4.6 day °C^?1. The temperature coefficients were not statistically different from each other or among locations, suggesting that the advance of apple phenology has predominantly been caused by the temperature increase across the locations studied. The same result was also observed with budding.     

Flowering phenologies of hummingbird plants from the temperate forest of southern South America: is there evidence of competitive displacement?

Plant species sharing pollinators may compete through pollination. This type of competition may lead to overdispersed flowering phenologies. However, phenological segregation is difficult to detect in seasonal climates. We compared patterns of phenological overlap in assemblages of ornithophilous plants from three localities of the temperate forest of southern South America with those generated by four different null models. These species were all visited and presumably pollinated by a single species, the hummingbird Sephanoides sephaniodes, which makes this situation ideal to evaluate the role of pollination‐mediated competition. For one site, we compiled data on flowering phenologies for three different years. Three models considered the flowering period of the whole assemblage of ornithophilous plants as the phenological window within which flowering phenologies were randomized, but made no further assumptions on how species should be distributed within that temporal frame. The fourth model assigned differential probabilities to different time intervals based on the flowering onset of non‐ornithophilous plant species. Observed mean pairwise overlaps for all localities and years were well within the interval defined by the 2.5 and 97.5% percentiles of the randomized distribution of expected mean pairwise overlaps according to models 1–3. However, model 4 showed a consistent trend towards overdispersion of ornihophilous phenologies, which show a shift towards mid‐ to late‐summer flowering. Thus, to the extent that the distribution of flowering of non‐ornithophilous species reflects the constraints imposed by a highly seasonal climate, our results provide support to the proposal that pollinator sharing may cause evolutionary displacement or ecological sorting of flowering phenologies. Other factors, such as phylogenetic inertia, could also contribute to explain extant phenological patterns in the highly endemic ornithophilous flora of the temperate forest of southern South America.     

Modeling daily flowering probabilities: expected impact of climate change on Japanese cherry phenology

Understanding the drivers of phenological events is vital for forecasting species’ responses to climate change. We developed flexible Bayesian survival regression models to assess a 29‐year, individual‐level time series of flowering phenology from four taxa of Japanese cherry trees (Prunus spachiana, Prunus × yedoensis, Prunus jamasakura, and Prunus lannesiana), from the Tama Forest Cherry Preservation Garden in Hachioji, Japan. Our modeling framework used time‐varying (chill and heat units) and time‐invariant (slope, aspect, and elevation) factors. We found limited differences among taxa in sensitivity to chill, but earlier flowering taxa, such as P. spachiana, were more sensitive to heat than later flowering taxa, such as P. lannesiana. Using an ensemble of three downscaled regional climate models under the A1B emissions scenario, we projected shifts in flowering timing by 2100. Projections suggest that each taxa will flower about 30 days earlier on average by 2100 with 2–6 days greater uncertainty around the species mean flowering date. Dramatic shifts in the flowering times of cherry trees may have implications for economically important cultural festivals in Japan and East Asia. The survival models used here provide a mechanistic modeling approach and are broadly applicable to any time‐to‐event phenological data, such as plant leafing, bird arrival time, and insect emergence. The ability to explicitly quantify uncertainty, examine phenological responses on a fine time scale, and incorporate conditions leading up to an event may provide future insight into phenologically driven changes in carbon balance and ecological mismatches of plants and pollinators in natural populations and horticultural crops.     

Phenological models for blooming of apple in a mountainous region

Six phenological series were available for ‘Golden Delicious’ apple blooming at six sites in Trentino, an alpine fruit-growing region. Several models were tested to predict flowering dates, all involving a “chilling and forcing” approach. In many cases, application of the models to different climatic conditions results in low accuracy of prediction of flowering date. The aim of this work is to develop a model with more general validity, starting from the six available series, and to test it against five other phenological series outside the original area of model development. A modified version of the “Utah” model was the approach that performed best. In fact, an algorithm using “chill units” for rest completion and a thermal sum for growing-degree-hours (GDH), whose efficiency changes over time depending on the fraction of forcing attained, yielded a very good prediction of flowering. Results were good even if hourly temperatures were reconstructed from daily minimum and maximum values. Errors resulting from prediction of flowering data were relatively small, and root mean square errors were in the range of 1–6 days, being <2 days for the longest phenological series. In the most general form of the model, the summation of GDH required for flowering is not a fixed value, but a function of topoclimatic variables for a particular site: slope, aspect and spring mean temperature. This approach allows extension of application of the model to sites with different climatic features outside the test area.     

Herbarium records identify sensitivity of flowering phenology of eucalypts to climate: Implications for species response to climate change

Flowering phenology is very sensitive to climate and with increasing global warming the flowering time of plants is shifting to earlier or later dates. Changes in flowering times may affect species reproductive success, associated phenological events, species synchrony, and community composition. Long‐term data on phenological events can provide key insights into the impacts of climate on phenology. For Australia, however, limited data availability restricts our ability to assess the impacts of climate change on plant phenology. To address this limitation other data sources must be explored such as the use of herbarium specimens to conduct studies on flowering phenology. This study uses herbarium specimens for investigating the flowering phenology of five dominant and commercially important Eucalyptus species of south‐eastern Australia and the consequences of climate variability and change on flowering phenology. Relative to precipitation and air humidity, mean temperature of the preceding 3 months was the most influential factor on the flowering time for all species. In response to a temperature increment of 1°C, a shift in the timing of flowering of 14.1–14.9 days was predicted for E. microcarpa and E. tricarpa while delays in flowering of 11.3–15.5 days were found for E. obliqua, E. radiata and E. polyanthemos. Eucalyptus polyanthemos exhibited the greatest sensitivity to climatic variables. The study demonstrates that herbarium data can be used to detect climatic signals on flowering phenology for species with a long flowering duration, such as eucalypts. The robust relationship identified between temperature and flowering phenology indicates that shifts in flowering times will occur under predicted climate change which may affect reproductive success, fitness, plant communities and ecosystems.     

Scaling phenology from the local to the regional level: advances from species‐specific phenological models

Plant phenology, the study of seasonal plant activity driven by environmental factors, has found a renewal in the context of global climate change. Phenological events, such as leaf unfolding, exert strong control over seasonal exchanges of matter and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. Phenological models that simulate the start of the growing season should be efficient tools to predict vegetation responses to climatic changes and related changes in energy balance. Species‐specific phenological models developed in the eighties have not been used for global‐scale predictions because their predictions were inaccurate in external conditions. Recent advances in phenology modelling at the species level suggest that prediction at a large scale may now be possible. In the present study, we tested the performance of species‐specific phenological models in time and space, looking at their ability (i) to predict regional phenology when previously fitted at a local scale, and (ii) to predict phenological trends, linked to climate changes, observed over a long‐term. For that task we used an historical phenological dataset from Ohio from the late ninetieth century and an airborne pollen dataset from Ontario, Québec and Maryland from the late twentieth century. The results show that the species‐specific phenological models used in this study were able to predict regional phenology even though they were fitted locally. The reconstruction of a phenological time series over the twentieth century showed a significant advancement of 0.2 days per year in the date of flowering of Ulmus americana, but very weak trends for Fraxinus americana and Quercus velutina.     

Grapevine powdery mildew resistance and susceptibility loci identified on a high-resolution SNP map

Improved efficacy and durability of powdery mildew resistance can be enhanced via knowledge of the genetics of resistance and susceptibility coupled with the development of high-resolution maps to facilitate the stacking of multiple resistance genes and other desirable traits. We studied the inheritance of powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) resistance and susceptibility of wild Vitis rupestris B38 and cultivated V. vinifera ‘Chardonnay’, finding evidence for quantitative variation. Molecular markers were identified using genotyping-by-sequencing, resulting in 16,833 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on alignment to the V. vinifera ‘PN40024’ reference genome sequence. With an average density of 36 SNPs/Mbp and uniform coverage of the genome, this 17K set was used to identify 11 SNPs on chromosome 7 associated with a resistance locus from V. rupestris B38 and ten SNPs on chromosome 9 associated with a locus for susceptibility from ‘Chardonnay’ using single marker association and linkage disequilibrium analysis. Linkage maps for V. rupestris B38 (1,146 SNPs) and ‘Chardonnay’ (1,215 SNPs) were constructed and used to corroborate the ‘Chardonnay’ locus named Sen1 (Susceptibility to Erysiphe necator 1), providing the first insight into the genetics of susceptibility to powdery mildew from V. vinifera. The identification of markers associated with a susceptibility locus in a V. vinifera background can be used for negative selection among breeding progenies. This work improves our understanding of the nature of powdery mildew resistance in V. rupestris B38 and ‘Chardonnay’, while applying next-generation sequencing tools to advance grapevine genomics and breeding.     

Beyond gradual warming: extreme weather events alter flower phenology of European grassland and heath species

Shifts in the phenology of plant and animal species or in the migratory arrival of birds are seen as ‘fingerprints’ of global warming. However, even if such responses have been documented in large continent‐wide datasets of the northern hemisphere, all studies to date correlate the phenological pattern of various taxa with gradual climatic trends. Here, we report a previously unobserved phenomenon: severe drought and heavy rain events caused phenological shifts in plants of the same magnitude as one decade of gradual warming. We present data from two vegetation periods in an experimental setting containing the first evidence of shifted phenological response of 10 grassland and heath species to simulated 100‐year extreme weather events in Central Europe. Averaged over all species, 32 days of drought significantly advanced the mid‐flowering date by 4 days. The flowering length was significantly extended by 4 days. Heavy rainfall (170 mm over 14 days) had no significant effect on the mid‐flowering date. However, heavy rainfall reduced the flowering length by several days. Observed shifts were species‐specific, (e.g. drought advanced the mid‐flowering date for Holcus lanatus by 1.5 days and delayed the mid‐flowering date for Calluna vulgaris by 5.7 days, heavy rain advanced mid‐flowering date of Lotus corniculatus by 26.6 days and shortened the flowering length of the same species by 36.9 days). Interestingly, the phenological response of individual species was modified by community composition. For example, the mid‐flowering date of C. vulgaris was delayed after drought by 9.3 days in communities composed of grasses and dwarf shrubs compared with communities composed of dwarf shrubs only. This indicates that responses to extreme events are context specific. Additionally, the phenological response of experimental communities to extreme weather events can be modified by the functional diversity of a stand. Future studies on phenological response patterns related to climate change would profit from explicitly addressing the role of extreme weather events.     

Somatic embryogenesis from grapevine cells. I-Improvement of embryo development by changes in culture conditions

In conventional culture conditions without auxin, somatic embryos arising from suspension cultures of grapevine rootstock 41B (Vitis vinifera cv. Chasselas x Vitis berlandieri) are arrested at the heart stage of development. Starting from indications that inhibitors excreted in the culture medium could be responsible for this arrest, new culture conditions based on daily subculturing embryos in fresh medium have been successfully used to obtain full embryo development. From this technique, a microassay was devised for screening small amounts of extracellular molecules as potential inhibitors of embryonic development. Our results show that extracellular macromolecules of molecular weight higher than 10 kDa are likely involved in the inhibition of caulinary meristem initiation. However, other factors obviously cooperate to inhibit embryo development in conventional culture conditionsAbbreviations CH76 cv. Chardonnay clone 76 (Vitis vinifera) - NOA 2-naphthoxyacetic acid     

Spatio-temporal modelling and assessment of within-species phenological variability using thermal time methods

Phenological observations of flowering date, budding date or senescence provide very valuable time series. They hold out the prospect for relating plant growth to environmental and climatic factors and hence for engendering a better understanding of plant physiology under natural conditions. The statistical establishment of associations between time series of phenological data and climatic factors provides a means of aiding forecasts of the biological impacts of future climatic change. However, it must be kept in mind that plant growth and behaviour vary spatially as well as temporally. Environmental, climatic and genetic diversity can give rise to spatially structured variation on a range of scales. The variations extend from large-scale geographical (clinal) trends, through medium-scale population and sub-population fluctuations, to micro-scale differentiation among neighbouring plants, where spatially close individuals are found to be genetically more alike than those some distance apart. We developed spatio-temporal phenological models that allow observations from multiple locations to be analysed simultaneously. We applied the models to the first-flowering dates of Prunus padus and Tilia cordata from localities as far apart as Norway and the Caucasus. Our growing-degree-day approach yielded a good fit to the available phenological data and yet involved only a small number of model parameters. It indicated that plants should display different sensitivities to temperature change according to their geographical location and the time of year at which they flower. For spring-flowering plants, we found strong temperature sensitivities for islands and archipelagos with oceanic climates, and low sensitivities in the interiors of continents.     

ABA and GA3 increase carbon allocation in different organs of grapevine plants by inducing accumulation of non‐structural carbohydrates in leaves,enhancement of phloem area and expression of sugar transporters

Grape quality for winemaking depends on sugar accumulation and metabolism in berries. Abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs) have been reported to control sugar allocation in economically important crops, although the mechanisms involved are still unknown. The present study tested if ABA and gibberellin A₃ (GA₃) enhance carbon allocation in fruits of grapevines by modifying phloem loading, phloem area and expression of sugar transporters in leaves and berries. Pot‐grown Vitis vinifera cv. Malbec plants were sprayed with ABA and GA₃ solutions. The amount of soluble sugars in leaves and berries related to photosynthesis were examined at three points of berry growth: pre‐veraison, full veraison and post‐veraison. Starch levels and amylase activity in leaves, gene expression of sugar transporters in leaves and berries and phloem anatomy were examined at full veraison. Accumulation of glucose and fructose in berries was hastened in ABA‐treated plants at the stage of full veraison, which was correlated with enhancement of Vitis vinifera HEXOSE TRANSPORTER 2 (VvHT2) and Vitis vinifera HEXOSE TRANSPORTER 6 (VvHT6) gene expression, increases of phloem area and sucrose content in leaves. On the other hand, GA₃ increased the quantity of photoassimilates delivered to the stem thus increasing xylem growth. In conclusion, stimulation of sugar transport by ABA and GA₃ to berries and stems, respectively, was due to build‐up of non‐structural carbohydrates in leaves, modifications in phloem tissue and modulation in gene expression of sugar transporters.     

Genetic Transformation of Major Wine Grape Cultivars of Vitis Vinifera L.

We have developed an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for a number of important grapevine cultivars used in wine production. Transgenic plants were obtained for the seven cultivars: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Muscat Gordo Blanco. Embryogenic callus was initiated from anther filaments and genotypic differences were observed for initiation and subsequent proliferation with Chardonnay responding most favourably to culture conditions. The transformation system allowed the recovery of germinating transgenic embryos 10–12 weeks after Agrobacterium inoculation and plants within 18 weeks. Examination of the expression patterns of the green fluorescent protein gene under the control of the CAMV35S promoter in leaf tissue of transgenic plants showed that for up to 35% of plants the pattern was not uniform. The successful transformation of a genetically diverse group of wine grape cultivars indicates that the transformation system may have general application to an even wider range of Vitis vinifera cultivars.     

The strength of assortative mating for flowering date and its basis in individual variation in flowering schedule

Although it has been widely asserted that plants mate assortatively by flowering time, there is virtually no published information on the strength or causes of phenological assortment in natural populations. When strong, assortative mating can accelerate the evolution of plant reproductive phenology through its inflationary effect on genetic variance. We estimated potential assortative mating for flowering date in 31 old‐field species in Ontario, Canada. For each species, we constructed a matrix of pairwise mating probabilities from the individual flowering schedules, that is the number of flower deployed on successive dates. The matrix was used to estimate the phenotypic correlation between mates, ρ, for flowering date. We also developed a measure of flowering synchrony within species, S, based upon the eigenstructure of the mating matrix. The mean correlation between pollen recipients and potential donors for flowering date was  = 0.31 (range: 0.05–0.63). A strong potential for assortative mating was found among species with high variance in flowering date, flowering schedules of short duration and skew towards early flower deployment. Flowering synchrony, S, was negatively correlated with potential assortment (r = ?0.49), but we go on to show that although low synchrony is a necessary condition for phenological assortative mating, it may not be sufficient to induce assortment for a given phenological trait. The potential correlation between mates showed no seasonal trend; thus, as climate change imposes selection on phenology through longer growing seasons, spring‐flowering species are no more likely to experience an accelerated evolutionary response than summer species.     

Climate change and the optimal flowering time of annual plants in seasonal environments

Long‐term phenology monitoring has documented numerous examples of changing flowering dates during the last century. A pivotal question is whether these phenological responses are adaptive or not under directionally changing climatic conditions. We use a classic dynamic growth model for annual plants, based on optimal control theory, to find the fitness‐maximizing flowering time, defined as the switching time from vegetative to reproductive growth. In a typical scenario of global warming, with advanced growing season and increased productivity, optimal flowering time advances less than the start of the growing season. Interestingly, increased temporal spread in production over the season may either advance or delay the optimal flowering time depending on overall productivity or season length. We identify situations where large phenological changes are necessary for flowering time to remain optimal. Such changes also indicate changed selection pressures. In other situations, the model predicts advanced phenology on a calendar scale, but no selection for early flowering in relation to the start of the season. We also show that the optimum is more sensitive to increased productivity when productivity is low than when productivity is high. All our results are derived using a general, graphical method to calculate the optimal flowering time applicable for a large range of shapes of the seasonal production curve. The model can thus explain apparent maladaptation in phenological responses in a multitude of scenarios of climate change. We conclude that taking energy allocation trade‐offs and appropriate time scales into account is critical when interpreting phenological patterns.     

Developmental changes in the diurnal water budget of the grape berry exposed to water deficits

The diurnal water budget of developing grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries was evaluated before and after the onset of fruit ripening (veraison). The diameter of individual berries of potted ‘Zinfandel’ and ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grapevines was measured continuously with electronic displacement transducers over 24 h periods under controlled environmental conditions, and leaf water status was determined by the pressure chamber technique. For well-watered vines, daytime contraction was much less during ripening (after veraison) than before ripening. Daytime contraction was reduced by restricting berry or shoot transpiration, with the larger effect being shoot transpiration pre-veraison and berry transpiration post-veraison. The contributions of the pedicel xylem and phloem as well as berry transpiration to the net diurnal water budget of the fruit were estimated by eliminating phloem or phloem and xylem pathways. Berry transpiration was significant and comprised the bulk of water outflow for the berry both before and after veraison. A nearly exclusive role for the xylem in water transport into the berry was evident during pre-veraison development, but the phloem was clearly dominant in the post-veraison water budget. Daytime contraction was very sensitive to plant water status before veraison but was remarkably insensitive to changes in plant water status after veraison. This transition is attributed to an increased phloem inflow and a partial discontinuity in berry xylem during ripening.