Metrics for studying berry growth kinetics in seedless grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.)

Abstract

The process related to the changes in dimensions and mass of grape berry passes through two growth phases separated by a lag phase, and can be described by a double sigmoid curve. The onset of the growth phases and their duration are important factors for understanding the growth processes in grape berries. A new method for their quantitative determination was developed in the present study. In this method, the phase transition dates correspond to the times at which the rate of change of the curvature of the logistic (sigmoid) curve reaches an extreme value. The method was tested on three seedless grape varieties, Sultanina, Ruby Seedless and Rusalka 3, and the changes in grape berry dimensions and mass were tracked from anthesis to harvest. For each of the varieties, a double logistic model of change in berry length, width and mass from anthesis to harvest was developed and the metrics of growth - beginning, stabilisation and end of growth - for each of the two phases were determined. It was found that the metrics in mass and berry dimensions do not match and shift relative to each other over time. A comparison of growth metrics with phenological metrics, such as anthesis, veraison and ripening, showed that phenophases cannot be used as a time scale to record the acceleration of growth processes, as they shifted in time with growth metrics. An exception was veraison, which coincided with the beginning of the accelerated growth of grapes during the second growth phase, following the lag phase. The time scale presented in the current research is a new tool for monitoring growth processes and could help clarify the links between visible changes in the grape berries and the ongoing processes within them. The developed method can also be used for the analysis of various growth processes that follow the logistic law.