Influence of methyl jasmonate and methyl jasmonate plus urea foliar applications on amino acids composition throughout ‘Tempranillo’ grape ripening over two seasons

This work studies the impact of foliar application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and methyl jasmonate plus urea (MeJA + Ur) on the evolution of amino acid content in ‘Tempranillo’ grapes during ripening, across two vintages. To achieve this goal, sample grapes were harvested at five different timing. Fol1: 1 day before first foliar application; Fol2: 1 day before second foliar application; Preharvest: 15 days after second foliar application; Harvest: the day of harvest; and Postharvest: 15 days after harvest. The effect of foliar treatments was season dependent, being effective to improve the amino acids content of grapes only in the first vintage. Among the treatments studied, foliar application of MeJA-Ur showed better results. The evolution of amino acids during ripening also was different among seasons. Overall, in the 2019, amino acids reached their highest content at Preharvest or Harvest samples, whereas in the 2020 season, these highest concentrations were reached at Postharvest. Asparagine might serve as a suitable amino acid for controlling grape ripening, as its content decreased from Fol1 to Postharvest in the two vintages. Moreover, differences on the total amino acids content at Harvest date between vintages were observed, probably due to different climatological conditions. Therefore, this study pioneers the examination of the impact of foliar applications of MeJA and MeJA + Ur on the amino acids evolution in ‘Tempranillo’ grapes during ripening. The need for further research is clear to comprehend the complex interaction between foliar treatments and grape amino acids dynamics for optimizing nitrogen quality of grapes.