THE INFLUENCE OF CLUSTERS THINNING ON THE PRODUCTION OF GRAPES IN THE VITICULTURAL AREA OF BANU MARACINE

The yield, expressed as the production of grapes per surface unit or per plant, plays a role of first importance in the set of factors on which wine production and its quality depend. The control of the yield and the possibilities of intervention for its adjustment are of major importance especially for obtaining high quality wines. Cluster thinning at fallow has proven to be a very effective method to regulate the yield and quality of grape production by increasing sugar content and decreasing total acidity. The vine will have the opportunity to ripen a smaller number of grapes in the interval from véraison to harvest. In this study, cluster thinning resulted in larger and riper grapes remaining at harvest compared to the control where the number of grapes per cluster was not reduced.