Background
Considering the phenological aspects, Vitis vinifera has peculiar position in the plant kingdom exhibiting various phenophases from dormancy until senescence viz., budburst, bloom, berry-set, ripening and harvesting. Just like other systems of agriculture and horticulture, grape orchardists and scientists require various types of scales which are convenient, globally accepted, error-free and reliable to study its growth and development.
Materials and methods
In this study, the details of specific phenological stages of grapevine were measured with the help of Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt, und Chemische Industrie (BBCH) scale. The BBCH-scale employs decimal coding with additional drawings into it for defining the phenology of grapevine with first digit showing principal growth stage of growth and the second digit the secondary stage of growth corresponding to ordinal number or percentage value.
Results
In this study, the phenological stages of growth in grapevine covering the entire cycle of growth, from with sprouting and ending upon senescence were identified and discussed. The stages are divisible into seven principal growth stages; two representing vegetative phase (sprouting (0) and leaf development (1)) and four stages describing reproductive growth (inflorescence emergence (5), flowering (6), development of fruits (7), ripening of berries (8)) and last stage is for senescence (9) as per BBCH scale. In the principal stages of growth a total of 17 secondary stages of growth
Conclusion
The phonological growth stages of grapevine have been detailed as per BBCH scale via codings distinguishing its vegetative and reproductive cycle.