Effect of Girdling on the Fruit Quality and Harvest Date of the 'Shigyoku' Grapes

The present study was carried out to elucidate the effect of girdling on the quality and harvest date of the 'Shigyoku' grapes. Among girdled vines, the interval from full bloom to harvest date was 77 days; this was as much as seven days shorter in vines receiving a 20% girdling treatment. With regards to fruit characteristics, significant differences were observed in cluster length, berry number, and berry weight in vines that received girdling treatments. There were also significant differences in cluster weight; 468.2 g, 491.6 g and 504.9 g in the control group, 10% girdling group, and 20% girdling group, respectively. Thus, the use of girdling treatments is an effective approach to increasing cluster weight by 5% in the 10% girdling treatment and 8% in the 20% girdling treatment. The 10% girdling treatment showed significant difference in terms of titrable acidity; in fact, the overall titrable acidity was relatively high among all the girdling treatments. The concentration of anthocyanin increased in 20% girdling treatment, but there were no significant differences in anthocyanin concentration among girdling treatments. Berry color developed rapidly in vines that received girdling treatment.