Thermal history parameters drive changes in physiology and cold hardiness of young grapevine plants during winter

Vitis vinifera is mainly cultivated in temperate areas, where seasons are well defined and winter conditions might be severe. To survive under these conditions during the dormant season, grapevines sense environmental parameters to trigger different protective mechanisms that lead to cold hardiness (CH). Crop yield and sustainability will be determined according to the level of CH reached in each organ. Moreover, different cultivars of V. vinifera exhibit different behavior throughout the dormant season, attaining a different status of CH. However, there is scarce information concerning how the same cultivar behaves under contrasting thermal environments. The aim of our research was to unveil how CH varies in trunks of the same cultivar under two contrasting environments and define which are the main thermal and biochemical parameters involved in this process. We submitted 2-year old plants of the same clone of cv. Malbec to two different thermal conditions: natural winter (control) and artificially warm winter (treatment). CH status, thermal and biochemical parameters in trunks were measured periodically over the dormant season, and this experiment was repeated for three years. Our results suggest that grapevine trunks subjected to a different environment reach dissimilar CH status, except at the end of winter. In addition, we determined that daily minimum temperature is the main thermal parameter that drives changes in CH. Also, we found that the total soluble sugars have the greatest relative weight in determining the CH compared with the other compounds evaluated. These results have practical implications in the establishment of vineyards for new growing regions. Moreover, with rising minimum temperature predicted by climate change scenarios, grapevines may be more vulnerable to cold events during the dormant season.Fil: Gonzalez Antivilo, Francisco Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Paz, Rosalia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Echeverria, Mariela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Keller, Markus. Irrigated Agriculture Research And Extension Center; Estados UnidosFil: Tognetti, Jorge Alberto. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Borgo, Roberto. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Cátedra de Fisiología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Roig Junent, Fidel Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentin