The role of potassium in quality of grapes after harvest

Objectives: The objectives of the proposal were to study how potassium (K) enters the berry and in what tissues it accumulates, to determine what is the sensitive phenological stage that is responsive to K, to study the influence of K on sugar translocation, to determine if K has effects on expression of genes in source and sink organs and to study applied aspects of the responses to K at the vineyard level. During the research it was realized that K acts externally so a major part of the original objectives had to be deserted and new ones, i.e. the role of K in enhancing water loss from the berry, had to be developed. In addition, the US partners developed practical objectives of understanding the interaction of K application and water deficit as well as application of growth regulators. Background: In our preliminary data we showed that application of K at mid-ripening enhanced sugar accumulation of table grapes. This finding is of major implications to both early and late harvested grapes and it was essential to understand the mode of action of this treatment. Our major hypothesis was that K enters the berry and by that increases sugar translocation into the berry. In addition it was important to cover practical issues of the application which may influence its efficacy and its reproducibility. Conclusions: The major conclusion from the research was that our initial hypothesis was wrong. Mineral analysis of pulp tissue indicated that upon application of K there was a significant increase in most of the major minerals. Subsequently, we developed a new hypothesis that K acts by increasing the water loss from the berry. In vitro studies of K-treated berries corroborated this hypothesis showing greater weight-loss of treated berries. This was not necessarily expressed in the vineyard as in some experiments berry weight remained unchanged, suggesting that the vine compensated for the enhanced water loss. Importantly, we also discovered that the efficacy of different K salts was strongly correlated to the pH of the salt solution: basic K salts had better efficacy than neutral or acidic salts and modifying the pH of the same salt changed its efficacy. It was therefore suggested that K changes the properties of the cuticle making it more susceptible to water loss. Of the practical aspects it was found that application of K to the clusters was sufficient to trigger its affect and that dual application of K had a stronger effect than single application. With regard to timing, it was realized that application of K after veraison was affective and the berries responded also when ripe. While the effect of K application was significant at harvest, it was mostly insignificant one week after application, suggesting that prolonged exposure to K was required. Implications: The scientific implications of the study are that the external mineral composition of the berry may have a significant role in sugar accumulation and that water loss may have an important role in sugar accumulation in grapes. It is not entirely clear how K modulates the cuticle but according to the literature its incorporation into the cuticle may increase its polarity and facilitate generation of "water bridges" between the flesh and the environment. The practical implications of this study are very significant because realizing the mode of action of K can facilitate a much more efficient application strategy. For example, it can be understood that sprays must be directed to the clusters rather than the whole vines and it can be predicted that the length of exposure is important. Also, by increasing the pH of simple K salts, the efficacy of the treatment can be enhanced, saving in the costs of the treatment. Finally, the ability of grape growers to apply K in a safe and knowledgeable way can have significant impact on the length of the season of early grape cultivars and improve the flavor of high grape yields which may otherwise have compromised sugar levels.