Table grapes are one of the most productive and economically relevant fruit crops worldwide. Table grape production characterizes by high water productivity but also by an intensive use of water, which puts pressure on local/regional water resources, particularly in dry regions (e.g. South Mediterranean, Northeast and Southeast of Brazil). Climate change and scarcer water resources make the problem more severe in those areas. Meanwhile, consumer’s demand for quality and sustainable production is increasing and environmental issues are becoming critical for competiveness. In this context, table grape “industry” needs solutions to promote water savings, sustain yield, quality and profit. Deficit irrigation emerged as a tool to mitigate the negative impact of drought on yield and quality and to save water in modern irrigated viticulture. Our aim is to describe the potential benefits of deficit irrigation in table grape production namely in what concerns water savings and berry quality. Previous literature shows that the effect of deficit irrigation on water savings varies with the genotype (scion and rootstock), the environmental conditions as well as the adopted agronomic strategies. This paper provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the eco-physiological basis of deficit irrigation strategies and their role on growth, yield and berry quality (biophysical and biochemical) in table grape. Complementary crop management strategies to guarantee a more sustainable use of water (e.g. higher water use efficiency), improved berry quality and smaller environmental impact of table grape production are presented and discussed.

‘Italia’ grape is one of the most important table grape cultivars grown worldwide. Gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers. Fr., is one of the most important causes of postharvest decay of table grapes, and the control of this disease is very difficult because postharvest treatments with synthetic fungicides are not allowed in many countries. The objective of this study was to compare different types of pads releasing different doses of SO₂ during cold storage to control gray mold in ‘Italia’ table grapes grown under subtropical conditions. Grape bunches were harvested from a commercial field trained on an overhead trellis located at Cambira, state of Parana (PR), South Brazil. The grapes were packed into carton boxes (capacity, 4.5 kg) and subjected to the following SO₂ pad treatments (Uvasys^®, Cape Town, South Africa) under cold storage (1.0 ± 1 °C) for 50 days: (i) Control; (ii) SO₂ slow release pad; (iii) SO₂ dual release pad; (iv) SO₂ dual release–fast reduced pad; (v) SO₂ slow release pad with grapes inoculated with B. cinerea suspension; (vi) SO₂ dual release pad with grapes inoculated with B. cinerea suspension; and (vii) SO₂ dual release-fast reduced pad with grapes inoculated with B. cinerea suspension. After cold storage, the grape boxes were maintained for 7 days at room temperature (25 °C). The incidence of gray mold on the grapes, firmness, shattered berries, stem browning, as well as other physicochemical variables, such as bunch mass, bunch mass loss, skin color, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA) and SS/TA were evaluated. Both SO₂ dual release pads were highly efficient in preventing the incidence of gray mold in ‘Italia’ grapes packed in clamshells during the 50-day period of cold storage and at room temperature, even with Botrytis-inoculated berries. The SO₂ slow release pad showed lower efficiency, but was higher than the control. The SO₂ dual release pad treatments provided the best results with respect to stem browning scores (fresh and green stems) during cold storage, and no differences were observed among the treatments with respect to the other physicochemical evaluations.

In colored table grapes, the anthocyanin contents are inhibited by the high temperature during ripening and berries suffer a lack of skin color, thus affecting their market value. In order to overcome this issue, a research study was planned to evaluate the influence of (S)-cis-abscisic acid (S-ABA) on rates of anthocyanin accumulation in table grapes when applied at different timings of ripening, and to quantify the gradual increase of berry color. The study was conducted in a commercial vineyard of ‘Benitaka’ table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.), grown under double annual cropping system in a subtropical area. The trials were carried out during two consecutive seasons (i.e., summer season of 2015 and off-season of 2016). The treatments used for the experiments contained 400 mg L⁻¹ S-ABA applied at different timings of veraison (the onset of ripening), as follows: control (with no application); at pre-veraison (PRV); at veraison (V); and at post-veraison (POV). For all S-ABA treatments, a second application was performed 10 days after the first application. Berries were analyzed for weekly and daily anthocyanin accumulations, weekly and daily color index development (CIRG), total soluble solids (TSS) content, titratable acidity (TA), and maturation index (TSS/TA). Grapes subjected to exogenous application of S-ABA at any time of veraison, especially at PRV or at V, significantly increased the anthocyanin accumulation as well as berry color index development. Other chemical properties of grapes (i.e., TSS, TA, and TSS/TA evolution) were not affected by the use of S-ABA and followed a predictable pattern in relation to days of berries ripening.