USE OF THERMAL ANALYSIS TO MEASURE FREEZING RESISTANCE OF GRAPE BUDS
The effects of bud excision, cooling rate, and preconditioning temperature on the mean low-temperature exotherm (LTE) of grape buds were studied to determine the appropriate methodology for measurement of hardiness of Vitis vinifera L. and Vitis vinifera hybrid buds using thermal analysis. Excision of Maréchal Foch buds to exclude any of the stem tissue raised the LTE temperature above that obtained with the bud attached to a piece of the stem. Cooling rates between 1.5 and 10 °C h−1 did not affect the LTE temperature of Marechal Foch and Okanagan Riesling buds, but at the most rapid rate of cooling, 40 °C h−1, a lack of thermal contact between the sensor and the tissue produced an error in measurement. The LTE temperature determined on the buds of eight cultivars was within 0.9 °C of the temperature which killed 50% of the buds. Preconditioning the buds at −5 °C for 7 d and then −10 °C for 3 d improved the ability of thermal analysis to discriminate the differences in freezing resistance among the cultivars Marechal Foch, Okanagan Riesling and Lakemont, in the autumn; but not in mid-winter. Methods for mounting stem sections on the thermocouples were developed and are described.Key words: Grape, cold hardiness, supercooling, exotherm, Vitis