2023/11/29 by Delrot, Serge, Gambetta, Grégory, Goutouly, Jean-Pascal
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paper · doi:10.17180/3hkj-db34
One of the expected effects of climate change is a shortage of water. This paper summarizes the physiological and molecular processes that control water and sugar fluxes in grape berries and the effects of water stress on these processes. Water decreases yield most notably by decreasing both berry size and number. Both effects are separated in developmental time corresponding to the different stages of berry formation: flower initiation that occurs during year N-1 and flowering/fruit set that occurs during year N. Pre-veraison berries readily respond to water stress by an increase in daily shrinking, whereas post-veraison berries, largely buffered from the mother plant, undergo only minor shrinking. Water stress leads to different effects on berry sugar content, depending on both the duration and the timing of stress.