Grapevine carbohydrate and nitrogen allocation during berry maturation

201 Pages·2017·7.33 MB·English

Grapevine carbohydrate and nitrogen allocation during berry maturation:
Implications of source-sink relations and water supply
Gerhard C. Rossouw
BSc (Agric), University of Stellenbosch
MSc (Agric), University of Stellenbosch
Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
March 2017
National Wine and Grape Industry Centre
School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences - Charles Sturt University
Faculty of Science
Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

Table of contents
Table of contents
Certificate of authorship ........................................................................................................ i
Editorial note ........................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................. iii
Statement of contribution to publications ...............................................................................iv
Abstract ..............................................................................................................................vi
Chapter 1: General introduction and research aims ................................................................. 1
1.1. Introduction and aims ............................................................................................ 1
1.2. References ............................................................................................................ 7
Chapter 2: Literature review ................................................................................................. 9
2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Grapevine non-structural carbohydrates................................................................... 10
2.2.1. Roles of carbohydrate reserves in grapevines. .................................................. 12
2.2.2. Mobilisation of carbohydrate reserves ........................................................... 13
2.2.3. Soluble sugar specific roles .......................................................................... 15
2.2.4. Minor sugars and sugar alcohols ................................................................... 19
2.2.5. Factors influencing carbohydrate reserve distribution in grapevines .................. 23
2.3. Grapevine nitrogen............................................................................................... 30
2.3.1. Roles of N in grapevines ............................................................................... 32
2.3.2. Fruit N accumulation .................................................................................... 33
2.3.3. Factors influencing N distribution .................................................................. 34
2.3.4. Amino acids ................................................................................................. 37
Table of contents
2.4. Concluding remarks .............................................................................................40
2.5. Literature cited ....................................................................................................41
Chapter 3: Paper 1 ............................................................................................................... 52
3.1. Main objective for paper 1. ....................................................................................52
Carbohydrate distribution during berry ripening of potted grapevines: Impact of water
availability and leaf-to-fruit ratio ......................................................................................53
Chapter 4: Paper 2 ............................................................................................................... 64
4.1. Main objective for paper 2. ....................................................................................64
Implications of the presence of maturing fruit on carbohydrate and nitrogen distribution in
grapevines under postveraison water constraints ..................................................................65
Chapter 5: Paper 3 ............................................................................................................... 79
5.1. Main objective for paper 3. ....................................................................................79
5.2. Supporting information ........................................................................................79
Vitis vinifera root and leaf metabolic composition during fruit maturation: Implications of
defoliation. .....................................................................................................................80
Chapter 6: Paper 4 ............................................................................................................. 122
6.1. Main objective for paper 4. .................................................................................. 122
6.2. Supplementary material..................................................................................... 122
Impact of post-véraison leaf source limitation on the metabolic profile of Vitis vinifera cv.
Shiraz berries................................................................................................................ .123
Chapter 7: General conclusions and future work .................................................................... 158
Appendix ..........................................................................................................................166
Certificate of authorship
Certificate of authorship
I, Gerhard Rossouw, hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to
the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or
written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted
for the award of any other degree or diploma at Charles Sturt University or any other
educational institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in the thesis.Any
contribution made to the research by colleagues with whom I have worked at Charles
Sturt University or elsewhere during my candidature is fully acknowledged.
I agree that this thesis be accessible for the purpose of study and research in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the Executive Director, Library Services,
Charles Sturt University or nominee, for the care, loan and reproduction of thesis,
subject to confidentiality provisions as approved by the University.
Gerhard Rossouw
10 March 2017
i
Editorial note
Editorial note
Thesis structure
This thesis contains two accepted and two submitted peer review publications. The
English style in the thesis is mainly Australian English in accordance with Charles Sturt
University`s academic manual available at http://www.csu.edu.au/acad_sec/academic-
manual/hcontm.htm (section 4: Regulations for presentations of print theses, other
examinable print works and the written component of examinable multi-media work).
However, American English is used in three of the publications (chapters 3, 4 and 6), in
accordance with the preference of the respective journals.
Chapters 1 and 2 have been referenced based on the American Psychological
Association (APA 6th edition), in line with Charles Sturt University`s referencing
style. The four publications (chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6) are referenced in accordance to
the respective journal’s preferred referencing style.
The APA 6th edition is available at:
http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/apa-6ed.pdf.
ii
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge my principle supervisor, Dr Bruno Holzapfel, for
mentoring me and offering me guidance during my PhD studies. I also thank my
co-supervisors, Dr Jason Smith, Dr Celia Barril and Prof Alain Deloire for their
valuable support and contributions during this research.
I thank Robert Lamont, David Foster and Peter Carey for providing me with technical
assistance during the three pot experiments. I also thank Beverley Orchard for her
contributions toward the statistical planning of my experiments and for conducting
statistical analyses. I thank Katja Šuklje for her contributions to the GC/MS analysis.
I would also like to acknowledge Wine Australia for financially supporting my PhD
project through stipend and operating fund contributions. Likewise, I would like to
thank the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University, for
providing me with a postgraduate scholarship.
Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for continuously supporting me
throughout my studies.
iii
Statement of contribution to publications
Statement of contribution to publications
The following publications are included in this thesis:
Rossouw, G. C.,Smith, J. P., Barril, C., Deloire, A., & Holzapfel, B. P. (2017).
Carbohydrate distribution during berry ripening of potted grapevines: Impact of water
availability and leaf-to-fruit ratio. Scientia Horticulturae, 216, 215-225.
Rossouw, G. C.,Smith, J. P., Barril, C., Deloire, A., & Holzapfel, B. P. (2017).
Implications of the presence of maturing fruit on carbohydrate and nitrogen distribution
in grapevines under postveraison water constraints. Journal of the American Society for
Horticultural Science, 142(2), 71-84.
Rossouw, G. C.,Orchard, B. A.,Šuklje, K., Smith, J. P., Barril, C., Deloire, A., &
Holzapfel, B. P. (2107). Vitis vinifera root and leaf metabolic composition during fruit
ripening: Implications of defoliation. Physiologia Plantarum (Under review).
Rossouw, G. C.,Šuklje, K., Orchard, B. A., Smith, J. P., Barril, C., Deloire, A., &
Holzapfel, B. P. (2107). Impact of post-véraison leaf source limitation on the metabolic
profile of Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz berries. Plant Physiology and
Biochemistry (Under review).
iv
Statement of contribution to publications
All papers were written by Gerhard Rossouw as first author and contributions by co-
authors during the writing process were made on the understanding that these papers
would contribute to this thesis and should therefore represent the work of Gerhard
Rossouw. As such the papers do represent the first author's development of concepts,
hypothesis formation, experimental design and implementation, data analysis and
interpretation. All co-authors support the use of the papers as experimental chapters of
this thesis.
(D rB ruHnool zapfel Date
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DrJ asSomni th Date
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Abstract
Abstract
The post-véraison period is characterised by rapid berry sugar accumulation, and
therefore, a substantial carbon (C) sink demand. In contrast to sugar accumulation, berry
nitrogen (N) incorporation is often variable at distinct stages of the season, and does not
necessarily predominate after véraison. Nevertheless, important alterations in fruit N
content and composition likely occur during the post-véraison period. The fruit sugar
requirement is sourced from leaf photoassimilation, however, total non-structural
carbohydrate (TNC) remobilisation from perennial tissues may provide an alternative C
source when photoassimilation is insufficient. N is translocated from the roots, leaves
and shoots to the berries after véraison, when soil N uptake is expected to be restricted.
The grapevine leaf-to-fruit ratio and water availability are major factors influencing
canopy photoassimilation, and subsequently, the allocation of TNC among perennial
organs and the fruit. Likewise, the leaf area and water supply also affect N distribution
between the perennial and reproductive organs. Restricting the post-véraison leaf area
and/or vine water availability may induce reserve TNC and N utilisation, and could
subsequently be detrimental toward TNC and N storage. Therefore, the overall aim of
this study was to evaluate the post-véraison distribution and partitioning of TNC and N
among the different grapevine organs, as influenced by source-sink relationships and
water supply.
Three distinct pot experiments, using three-year-old own rooted Vitis vinifera
grapevines, were conducted during the post-véraison period. For the first experiment
(2013-14), within each leaf-to-fruit ratio treatment (full and 50% leaves), grapevines
were grown under full or 50% reduced irrigation. Changes in dry biomass, and starch
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