Densidade do coberto e monda na casta Alfrocheiro na Região do Dão

Mestrado em Viticultura e Enologia - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThroughout two years (2005 and 2006), have been studied the effects of three canopy management techniques (reduction of shoot density, basal leaf removal and qualitative cluster thinning), on the behaviour of the vine variety ‘Alfrocheiro’. The trial, installed in Dão region, in a private vineyard (Dão Sul - Soc. Vitivinícola, S.A.), had three shoot densities (test, 18 and 12 shoots/m of canopy), two different treatments of basal leaf removal (test and basal leaf removal at veraison). Two treatments of qualitative cluster thinning have also been evaluated (test and qualitative cluster thinning at veraison, of the more delayed and with less quality clusters - “monda qualitative”). The shoots suppression and basal leaf removal decreased the number of leaf layers, the percentage of interior clusters and increased the penetration of the PAR in the fruit zone, improving the clusters microclimate. The reduction of shoot density, as well as cluster thinning, reduced the yield in both years. The basal leaf removal didn’t have any influence on this parameter. The factor “year” assumed a preponderant importance on grapes composition. Relatively to the three studied canopy management techniques, they didn’t have a significant role in the alteration of grapes characteristics. In what concerns to pruning, the most important result was the reduction of the time of pruning in the lower densities