Influence of Desséchement de la Rafle on Grape Quality

Abstract

Dessèchement de la rafle (or Stiellähme), first reported in 1937 in Switzerland, and then in Germany and France, is occurring with ever greater frequency in the vineyards of Europe and is also seen in South America. We are dealing here with a physiological disorder whose characteristics are the partial drying out of stalks and the withering of the grape berries.