Growth and Nutritional Responses of Nine Grape Cultivars to Low Soil pH

Abstract

Nine grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L., V. labruscana Bailey, and French-American hybrids) were evaluated in pot culture for their tolerance to strongly acid (pH 4.8) and slightly acid (pH 6.7) soil. Differences in cultivar tolerance to the strongly acid soil included a reduction in shoot and root dry weights and root volume. Based on root development, the most tolerant cultivars to the strongly acid soil were the V. labruscana cultivars Concord and Catawba and the V. riparia × V. berlandieri rootstock cultivar SO 4. The least tolerant vines were the two V. vinifera cultivars White Riesling and Chardonnay and the interspecific hybrid `Aurore'. No consistent treatment effects were found in foliar N, K, or B levels, but P and Ca were higher and Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn lower in plants grown in the very acid soil.