Effect of shoot removal on bud fruitfulness and yield of Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Crimson Seedless’ in the Western Cape

Abstract

‘Crimson Seedless’ (Vitis vinifera L.) is an attractive, late season, red, seedless cultivar, which is currently a very popular table grape cultivar. It is one of the most planted cultivars in South Africa and third in terms of total area of table grape vineyards in production. Mature ‘Crimson Seedless’ grapes are characterized by outstanding eating quality, good flavour, firm and crisp berries. One of the key factors affecting the yield of table grape cultivars is bud fruitfulness. Low fruitfulness can have a significant effect on the yield of table grape cultivars and ‘Crimson Seedless’ is characterized by a fruitfulness problem. Summer pruning, such as the removal of shoots after harvesting grapes, is a cultivation practice widely used by some table grape producers in the Orange River region of South Africa. The first hypothesis of this study stated that the removal of shoots after harvest will increase the transmitted PAR through the canopy, increase carbohydrate reserve levels in canes and improve bud fruitfulness of ‘Crimson Seedless’. A second hypothesis of this study stated that the cut back of all main shoots and shoots developing from spurs to the nearest lateral shoot and the removal of all unproductive shoots after berry set will result in fruitful shoots the following season. The third and final hypothesis of this study stated that the removal of shoots after harvest and berry set will improve the yield and quality of Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Crimson Seedless’. The study was conducted over three seasons (2010/11 to 2012/13) and aimed at investigating factors, including shoot removal, impacting bud fruitfulness of an 11-year-old commercial V. vinifera L. cv. ‘Crimson Seedless’ vineyard, grafted on ‘Ramsey’ (Vitis champinii) rootstocks in the Hex River Valley. The treatment design was a complete randomized design and involved five treatments, which included 33% shoot removal (S33) and 66% shoot removal (S66) after harvest, cutting of all main and lateral shoots developing from spurs to the nearest lateral shoot (LS), removal of all unproductive shoots (RSB) which was compared with the control, in which standard pruning practices were performed. The results obtained in this experiment showed that shoot removal after harvest and after berry set improves PAR transmission into the canopy, but there was no significant impact on bud fruitfulness. In addition, it was found that shoot removal reduced vegetative growth resulting in thinner canes that also led to the improvement in PAR transmission. Furthermore, bunch number per shoot in the LS treated vines was reduced when compared with S33 treated vines, illustrating that shoot removal at berry set can reduce bunch number per shoot due to defoliation after berry set. The significant decrease in bud burst in the S33 treatments compared with the control was expected due to less shoots, resulting in a reduction in cane mass during the 2010/11 season. The significant effect of LS treatments after berry set on TSS and total red pigments compared with the S66 treatments and the control, respectively, clearly indicates that shoot removal after berry set improves grape colour. The positive effect of LS treatments on colour was supported by the significant improvement in class 4 bunches, representing an improvement in quality. Although shoot removal did not have a significant effect on the bunch mass per vine of ‘Crimson Seedless’, there was a significant reduction in total bunches for export and mass of the total export bunches in the LS treatments in the 2011/12 season. A link between carbohydrate concentration in canes and bud fruitfulness was not found in this study, as S33 and S66 treatments did not have a significant effect on carbohydrate content in canes during the 2011/12 season. The question therefore arises whether the treatments applied during the growing seasons are worthwhile, because there was no significant impact on bud fruitfulness of Vitis vinifera L. cv. ‘Crimson Seedless’. This study illustrates that growers need to decide whether it is worthwhile to utilize labour for this practice and they must manage grapevines not only for the current seasons crop, but also for the next season and this can be accomplished by maintaining sufficient carbohydrates for fruitfulness and yield from season to season.