© 1972 Oxford University Press
RESEARCH-ARTICLE |
A Comparative Study of Cytokinin Levels in Bleeding Sap of Vitis vinifera (L.) and the Two Grapevine Rootstocks, Salt Creek and 1613
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Horticultural Research G.P.O. Box 350, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, and Merbein, Victoria
Bleeding sap from field-grown vines of Sultana, growing either on their own roots, or grafted to the rootstocks Salt Creek or 1613, were assayed for cytokinin activity. Levels of activity were compared with the yields of fruit obtained from the same groups of vines. All three types of plants contained two principal cytokinins, of which one was presumed to be a nucleoside of the other. The Sultana vines on their own roots and on the Salt Creek rootstock yielded equally, and there was no difference in the cytokinin concentration of their sap. However, for the season considered, yield was depressed by the 1613 rootstock, due primarily to fewer berries in each bunch. At the same time, the 1613 group contained less cytokinins in its sap, both on a concentration basis and in terms of the total amount passing to the shoot each day. Rootstock effects on the yield of Sultana vines are discussed in relation to the cytokinin content of the sap and the known effects of synthetic cytokinins on fruit set in grape vines.