Canonical correlations among grapevine agronomic and processing characteristics

Abstract

Canonical correlation analysis allows conclusions to be drawn about the occurrence and magnitude of associations between two groups of characteristics. This study estimated the magnitude of association and interdependence between two trait groups of clones of two varieties of Vitis vinifera grapes. The study was based on the mean data of eight characteristics from two experiments to test the performance of these clones: the first experiment provided data from seven clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, which evaluated in the northern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States, and the second data set was from six clones of the Chardonnay variety, which were evaluated in the Napa Valley, California, United States. The canonical correlations among the two varieties were significant, indicating that the two groups of characteristics were related or not independent. The quality and quantity of the raw material required for fine-wine production were inversely proportional and specific to each variety. For Cabernet Sauvignon, the high number of berries per bunch and high number of bunches per plant resulted in fruits with a high °Brix level and increased pH. For Chardonnay, the increase in the bunch weight and number of berries decreased the fruit pH.