Leaf Eco-Physiological Profile and Berries Technological Traits on Potted Vitis vinifera L. cv Pinot Noir Subordinated to Zeolite Treatments under Drought Stress

Abstract

In Mediterranean areas, extreme weather conditions such as high diurnal temperatures during the growing season could tweak vine physiology and metabolism, affecting grapes’ quality. Moreover, uncertainty in spatial and temporal distribution precipitation is an issue for the water resources of the vineyards, forcing the winemakers to continuously face an increasing water demand in recent decades, which has led them to non-sustainable choices for ambient (i.e., irrigation solutions). The aspiration of this experiment was to explore the effects of zeolite treatments (clinoptilolite type) on Vitis vinifera L. (potted vines) ecophysiology and berry metabolism under two water regimes. The plants were subordinated to two different predawn water potential regimes (0 ≤ ΨPD ≤ −0.4, WWCtrl and −0.4 ≤ ΨPD ≤ −0.9, WSCtrl), both associated with zeolite treatments (WWt and WSt). Gas exchanges, predawn and midday stem water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence, temperature, and relative water content were overseen on leaves at veraison, maturation, and harvest. Technological analyses were performed on the berries. Moreover, data were analyzed with principal component analysis and Pearson’s correlations. This experiment supplies new evidence that zeolite applications could impact both physiological profiles (higher photosynthesis and stomatal conductance) as well as berry skin metabolism (sugar and size) of vines, giving a better skill to counteract low water availability during the season and maintaining a better hydraulic conductivity.