Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 West Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center

2 Jahad- e – Keshavarzi organization of West Azerbaijan Province

3 University of Tabriz

Abstract

Introduction: The basic characteristic of modern table grape production is its adaptation to the requirements of the market aiming to improve grape quality, such as equal cluster size, equal size and shape of the berry, and equal coloration of all the berries in the cluster. Furthermore, an important attribute of the grape berry quality is seedlessness. Seedless cultivars are characterized with small berries, which can be increased by using some management techniques. Plant hormones may play an important role in the growth and development of grape berries. Gibberellic acid (GA3) is known to stimulate development of parthenocarpic fruit in grapes and other fruits. The exogenous pre-bloom application of GA3 to grapevine is commonly used to induce seedlessness, accelerate early ripening, and enhance berry size in seedless cultivars. Although there are a large number of studies on seedless grape varieties, no previous research has been performed on the effect of GA3 on the seeded grape cultivars. Differences in the types of berry set affect the growth of berries and their size. It is well known that there is an important relationship between seed development and berry growth, which has been attributed to hormones such as auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins.
Materials and Methods: To study the effects of 100 mg/L pre-bloom (7 and 14 days before blooming) GA3 application on the induction of seedlessness and some berry and cluster characteristics of three seeded Iranian cultivars, Qzl ouzum, Rish babab Qermez and Khalili Qermez, this research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications. The vines of each cultivar were selected in the vineyard of Horticultural Research Center in West Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center, Urmia, Iran. The vines were 13 years old and bi-lateral cordon system had been used as their training system. Pollen germination test was performed at the time of flowering, and several qualitative and quantitative traits including fruit set percentage, cluster length, rachis fresh weight, number of shot berries, number of seedless berries in clusters, the average weight of seedless berries, length of pedicle, berry weight, total soluble solids (TSS) and pH were measured.
Results and Discussion: The results of the study showed that GA3 at 100 mg/L showed significant difference from control regarding pollen germination rate, fruit set percentage, length of cluster and rachis, number of shot berries, weight and number of seedless berries, length of pedicle, weight of berry and TSS. Pollen germination was reduced in those cultivars treated with GA3 but the responses of cultivars were different. Gibberellin caused an increase in cluster length, but the rate of increase in Rish baba and Qzl ouzum was greater than Khalili. In terms of inducing seedlessness in berries, GA3 caused greater effect in Qzl ouzum than Rish baba and Khalili Qermez. The greatest seedless berries weight obtained with the treatment of GA3 spray 7 days before blooming in Qzl ouzum, although the number of seedless berries in this cultivar was fewer than other cultivars. The difference in berry number per cluster between clusters receiving GA3 pre- vs. post-anthesis appeared to consist largely of seedless berries. Perhaps, GA3 stimulated non-fertilized or otherwise nonviable fruits to be retained. The longest pedicle observed in Qzl ouzum treated with 100 mg/lit GA3 14 days before blooming, while Khalili Qermez had the shortest pedicle. In all the cultivars, treatment with GA3 caused an increase in the average length of pedicle. The content of total soluble solids (TSS) in fruits treated with GA3 was higher than control. Gibberellic acid promotes cell division, stimulates earlier flowering, increases the size and yield of fruits, and induces seedlessness in seedless cultivars. The effect of GA3 depends on variety, concentration and time of application.
Conclusion: In conclusion, application of GA3 at 100 mg/lit increased fruit set and seedless berries. The increased number of seedless berries was also noticed when GA3 applied at 100 mg/L. In general, GA3 application before flowering in Qzl ouzum, Rish babab Qermez and Khalili Qermez cultivars produced shot berries and seeded berries, and repeated GA3 application after fruit set can resulted in seedless berries with an acceptable size. More research is needed to establish guidelines for the proper use of GA3 for production of seedless berries from the studied seeded cultivars.

Keywords

1- Abedi N.Kh., Doulati Baneh H. and Jalili Marandi R. 2013. Effect of pollen on the qualitative and quantitative traits of physiological female grape (Vitis vinifera.L) cv.Ghezel uzum Urmia, National congress of grape and raisins, university of Malayer. (In Farsi).
2- Afshari H., Sajedi S. and Hokm Abadi H. 2014. Effects of gibberelic acid and girdling ik fruit characters of Askari grape cultivar, Journal of Horticultural Science, 28(2): 269-276.
3- Badr S.A., Tufenkjian J. and Ramming D.E. 2005. Effects of pruning, girdling and gibberelic acid application at bloom and berry set on yield and fruit quality of sweet Scarlet table grape cultivars. Pp.47. In: The proceedings of the annual Meeting of American Society of Enology and Viticulture, World Journal Science, 3(1): 91-96.
4- Baydar N.G. and Harmankaya N. 2004. Changes in endogenous hormone levels during the ripening of grape cultivars having different berry set mechanisms, Turkey Journal of Agricculture and Forestry, 29: 205- 210.
5- Dokoozlian N., Luvisi D. and Peacock B. 1993. Producing fantasy seedless table grapes, grape Grower Magazine.
6- Doulati Baneh H., Abdolahi R. and Zafar Farokhi F. 2012. Comparison of GA3 with some nutritional compounds on qualitative and quantitative traits of Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Bidane Sefid, Journal of Small Fruits, 1(2): 13-24. (in Farsi)
7- Heydari M., Abotalebi A., Karami M.J. and Mohammadi A. 2012 .Effects of gibberellic acid and berry thinning on fruit characteristics of Yaghooti grape cultivar,7th Congress of Iranian Horticultural science,1958-1961.(in Farsi)
8- Ito H., Motomora Y., Konno Y. and Hatayama T. 1969. Exogenous gibberellin application as responsible for the seedless berry development of grapes. I. Physiological studies on the development of seedless Delaware grapes, Tohoku Journal of Agricultural Research, 20:1-18.
9- Karami M.J. and Eshghi S. 2012. Effects of Giberelic acid on some characters of Yaghoti cultvar in arid condition, 7th Congress of Iranian Horticultural science, 1881- 1883. (in Farsi)
10- Kimura P.H., Okamoto G. and Hirano K. 1996. Effect of gibberellic acid and streptomycin on pollen germination and ovule and seed development in Muscat Bailey, American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 47: 152-156.
11- Korkutal L., Bahar E. and Gökhan Ö. 2008. The Characteristics of Substances Regulating Growth and Development of Plants and the Utilization of Gibberellic Acid (GA3) in Viticulture, World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 4 (3): 321-325.
12- Looney N.E. 1981. Some growth regulator and cluster thinning effects on berry set and size, berry quality and annual productivity of de Chaunac grapes. Vitis, 20: 22-35.
13- Miura K., Okamoto G. and Hirano K. 2004. Pollen tube growth in GA- treated pistils of Delaware grapes, Journal of ASEV Japan, 15: 129- 130.
14- Morris J.R. 1987. Effect of gibberellic acid on yield and quality of grapes. Department of Food Science University of Arkansas. P. 76.
15- Okamoto G. and Miura K. 2005. Effect of pre- bloom GA application on pollen tube growth in cv. Delaware grape pistil, Vitis, 44(4), 157- 159.
16- Pharis R.P. and King, R.W. 1985. Gibberellins and reproductive development in seed plants, Annual Reviwe of Plant Physiology, 36:517-568.
17- Patil D.R. 2005. Studies on production technology in Thompson seedless grapes (Vitis vinifera L.). PhD Thesis of Horticulture. University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.
18- Singh I.S. and Chauhan K.S. 1980. Quality improvement in graps. Indian Horticultrre. 24: 4,2- 4.
19- Weaver R.J. and McCune S.B. 1959. Response of certain varieties of Vitis vinifera to gibberellins, Hilgardia, 28:297-350.
20- Weaver R.J. and Pool R.M. 1965. Relation of seedlessness and ringing to gibberellin –like activity in berries of Vitis vinifera L, Plant Physiology, 40:770-776.
CAPTCHA Image