Effects of light quality on physiological and biochemical attributes of 'Queen Nina' grape berries

Abstract

Protected cultivation is an effective measure for high-end grape production. Nevertheless, the long-time application of plastic film negatively influences the light environment, and results in a certain decrease in berry quality. In this study, six different light treatments, including white (W), red (R), blue (B), and three different combinations with different ratios of red and blue light (1:1, 4:1, 1:4, respectively), were applied to monitor the quality and sensory properties of 'Queen Nina' grapes. Compared to the control group (without supplemental light), all light treatments significantly increased the size and weight of berries, as well as improved their sugar, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) content, whereas all light treatments decreased the levels of chlorophylls and organic acids. Furthermore, the R1B4 treatment improved the content of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (Cy) and peonidin-3-O-glucoside (Pn), which are the dominant anthocyanin compounds in red grape berry. Additionally, esters, accounting for more than 42% of the VOCs, are the main volatile compounds in 'Queen Nina' grape, and R1B4 treatment was the most favorable treatment for VOCs accumulation. The combination of red and blue light at the 1:4 ratio (R1B4) obtained the highest composite and sensory scores and had the most positive impact on berry coloration, sugars, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and VOCs accumulation, followed by the blue light treatment. In summary, the present results highlight the effective strategy of R1B4 light treatment to increase the berry quality of 'Queen Nina' grape berries.

Keywords

Grape / Protected cultivation / Light quality / Physiological parameters / Biochemical composition

Author contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: Ren Y, Leng X, Li B, Fang J; data collection: Ji X, Wu J, Wang M, Liu W; analysis and interpretation of results: Wei G, Sun X, Li L; draft manuscript preparation: Cui Z, Xu X, Li Y, Mu Q. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its supplemental files.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Innovation Ability Enhancement Project in Shandong Province (2023TSGC0491), the science-technology benefiting people project of Qingdao (23-2-8-xdny-4-nsh), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (32372646, 32272647 and 32102353), the Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Educational Committee (2024AH051983), the key research and development plan of Shandong Province (2023TZXD015 and 2022TZXD001101), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021QC005 and ZR2022QC018), Inner Mongolia Science Technology Plan (2022YFDZ0029), the Unveiling and Commanding project of the West Coast new area of Qingdao (2022-23), and the Qingdao Agricultural University Enterprise Cooperation Projects (660/2424191). Additionally, we thank the Instrumental Analysis Center of Qingdao Agricultural University for assistance during data collection.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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