Forever Young? Late Shoot Pruning Affects Phenological Development, Physiology, Yield and Wine Quality of Vitis vinifera cv. Malbec

Abstract

‘Malbec’ grapevines commonly have high yield, thus intermittently negatively affecting wine quality parameters. Here, we describe the use of late shoot pruning (LSP) practice applied for wine quality improvement. We examined the effect of timing of LSP on ‘Malbec’ vines grown in Mediterranean conditions during three consecutive seasons (2016–2018) in Israel. The timing of LSP treatment applications (applied one, two and three weeks after bud break) were compared with cluster-thinned, winter-pruned vines (WP + T) and standard winter pruning (WP). The LSP practice postponed bud break of target buds but did not have a temporal effect on the onset of veraison. Midday stem water potential was less negative and stomatal conductance and net CO2 assimilation rate were higher in the LSP vines. This practice led to a substantial reduction in the number of clusters and crop yield. Finally, wine quality was positively affected by applying LSP treatment. Performing the inexpensive LSP treatment at the precise timing after bud burst was found to save labor, decrease crop yield and improve grape and wine parameters. LSP application should be considered in adequate varieties as a significant tool for the enhanced effectiveness of vine growing in warm regions.