Background:
The quality of berries and red wines is influenced by the cultivar. the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a polyamine biosynthesis (pa) inhibitor on some red grapevine cultivars with a genetically lower quality of grapes and wines. o-phosphoethanolamine was used as a pa inhibitor because of its positive effect on the quality of some small berries.
Results:
The pa inhibitor at a foliar dose treatment of 7.0 g ha(-1) significantly increased the peroxidation inhibition of berries (1.16- to 1.56-fold), the color density (from 1.66% to 69.14%) and the sensory quality of the wines with a lower genetically programmed color quality (andré, saint laurent and zweigeltrebe), but not the higher-quality alibernet variety. the pa inhibitor predominantly decreased the total phenolic and anthocyanin contents (from 37.0% to 27.5%), and it significantly decreased the contents of free polyamines in all varieties-very dramatically in saint laurent grapes (17.16- to 1.58-fold).
Conclusions:
Foliar treatment of red grapevine varieties of a low quality, using o-phosphoethanolamine, can help produce higher-quality wines.