Abstract
Crop thinning subsequent to fruit set can help regulate yield and improve fruit composition at harvest. Accordingly, an experiment was established in two vineyards (Site 1 Riverland District of South Australia; Site 2 Sunraysia District of Victoria) to investigate effects of crop removal after fruit set (when berries were pea size) using a machine harvester. Specific zones of the canopy were targeted for thinning to remove a predetermined percentage of the fruit and avoid over-thinning. Cropping responses to mechanical thinning were compared with control (un-thinned) vines, and with hand thinned vines (where fruit was removed from a similar portion of the canopy as for mechanical thinning). In a fourth treatment, bunches damaged by mechanical thinning were removed by hand. Inclusion of hand thinning treatments enabled us to distinguish between the potential benefits of reduced yield and the potential damage caused by the mechanical harvester to foliage and/or remaining fruit. Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount (approximately 24% on Site 1 and approximately 45% on Site 2) and advanced fruit maturity (soluble solids accumulation at harvest), relative to un-thinned controls, by approximately 1.6 % and 1.7% respectively. Soluble solids accumulated at a similar rate for all treatments at sites, despite differences in yield, implying that the impact of thinning treatments originated prior to veraison. Berry weight was increased by hand thinning at Site1, and by all thinning treatments at Site 2. Anthocyanin concentration (berry fresh weight basis) was higher in fruit from the mechanically thinned vines compared to controls (un-thinned). Mechanical thinning successfully reduced crop level to the target yield, and improved fruit quality. Mechanical thinning, via modified use of a machine harvester, thus offers some potential to regulate yield over large and minimally pruned vineyards, in a timely and cost-effective fashion.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning reduced bunch number.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)
Vitis viniferat0 - Treatment
- mechanicale0
- Outcome
- bunch numbere0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Hand thinning reduced bunch number.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- hand thinninge0
- Outcome
- bunch numbere0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning reduced yield approximately 24% at Site 1.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- mechanicale0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- approximately 24%e0
- Setting
- Site 1e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount (approximately 24% on Site 1 and approximately 45% on Site 2)”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Hand thinning reduced yield approximately 24% at Site 1.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- hand thinninge0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- approximately 24%e0
- Setting
- Site 1e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount (approximately 24% on Site 1 and approximately 45% on Site 2)”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning reduced yield approximately 45% at Site 2.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- mechanicale0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- approximately 45%e0
- Setting
- Site 2e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount (approximately 24% on Site 1 and approximately 45% on Site 2)”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Hand thinning reduced yield approximately 45% at Site 2.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- hand thinninge0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- approximately 45%e0
- Setting
- Site 2e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the mechanical and the hand thinning treatments reduced bunch number as well as yield by a similar amount (approximately 24% on Site 1 and approximately 45% on Site 2)”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning advanced fruit maturity about 1.6%.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- mechanicalt1
- Outcome
- fruit maturity (soluble solids accumulation at harvest)e0
- Direction
- advancede0
- Value
- approximately 1.6 %e0
- Comparator
- un-thinned controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“advanced fruit maturity (soluble solids accumulation at harvest), relative to un-thinned controls, by approximately 1.6 % and 1.7% respectively”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
t1“hand versus mechanical”
Claim · model-written summary
Hand thinning advanced fruit maturity about 1.7%.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- handt1
- Outcome
- fruit maturity (soluble solids accumulation at harvest)e0
- Direction
- advancede0
- Value
- 1.7%e0
- Comparator
- un-thinned controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“advanced fruit maturity (soluble solids accumulation at harvest), relative to un-thinned controls, by approximately 1.6 % and 1.7% respectively”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
t1“hand versus mechanical”
Claim · model-written summary
Soluble solids accumulation rates were similar across treatments at both sites.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Outcome
- Soluble solids accumulated at a similar ratee0
- Direction
- similare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soluble solids accumulated at a similar rate for all treatments at sites”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Hand thinning increased berry weight at Site 1.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- hand thinninge0
- Outcome
- Berry weighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Setting
- Site1e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Berry weight was increased by hand thinning at Site1”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
All thinning treatments increased berry weight at Site 2.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- all thinning treatmentse0
- Outcome
- Berry weighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Setting
- Site 2e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Berry weight was increased by hand thinning at Site1, and by all thinning treatments at Site 2”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning raised berry anthocyanin concentration relative to unthinned vines.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- mechanically thinned vinese0
- Outcome
- Anthocyanin concentratione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- controls (un-thinned)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Anthocyanin concentration (berry fresh weight basis) was higher in fruit from the mechanically thinned vines compared to controls (un-thinned)”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning achieved the target crop level and improved fruit quality.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Treatment
- Mechanical thinninge0
- Outcome
- fruit qualitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mechanical thinning successfully reduced crop level to the target yield, and improved fruit quality”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose mechanical thinning to regulate yield in large minimally pruned vineyards.
- Taxon
- Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)Vitis viniferat0
- Outcome
- regulate yield over large and minimally pruned vineyardse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mechanical thinning, via modified use of a machine harvester, thus offers some potential to regulate yield over large and minimally pruned vineyards, in a timely and cost-effective fashion”
t0“Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.)”
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- negative
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See all 95 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.