In grape vineyards, trellis systems are used to provide specific canopy microclimate to optimize grapevine production, physiological performance, and berry composition. However, many major wine producing regions are being challenged by the constantly increasing air temperature and decreasing available water allocated for agricultural use. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of trellis system and applied water amount on grapevine productivity and grape quality. This study was conducted to evaluate six trellis systems, including a vertical shoot positioned (VSP), two modified VSP systems (VSP60 and VSP80), a single high wire (SH), a high quadrilateral (HQ), and a cane-pruned VSP-Guyot (GY) and three applied water amounts based on various crop evapotranspiration (ETc), including 25%, 50%, and 100%, in 2020 and 2021. The results showed that SH and HQ systems, once fully established, could have higher efficiency in accumulating total soluble solids (TSS) and total yield. Also, these two systems showed greater flavonol and anthocyanin accumulation in grape berry skins compared to the VSPs, possibly resulted from reduced chemical degradation from the hotter environment Being strongly correlated with canopy architecture, the flavonols and molar percentage of quercetin in berry skins, indicated that the VSP systems were more likely to be prone to overexposure and potential photooxidative stress. The three applied water amounts showed that with less water, grapevines would have lowered yield but increased berry flavonoid accumulation. Overall, this experiment provides information about selecting trellis systems and applied water amounts to optimize vineyard productivity and berry quality in warm/hot viticultural regions.
