In biology, the BBCH-scale for grapes describes the phenological development of grapes using the BBCH-scale.
Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors. The word, coined by the Belgian botanist Charles Morren around 1849, is derived from the Greek φαίνω (phainō), "to show, to bring to light, make to appear" + λόγος (logos), amongst others "study, discourse, reasoning" and indicates that phenology has been principally concerned with the dates of first occurrence of biological events in their annual cycle. Examples include the date of emergence of leaves and flowers, the first flight of butterflies and the first appearance of migratory birds, the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees, the dates of egg-laying of birds and amphibia, or the timing of the developmental cycles of temperate-zone honey bee colonies. In the scientific literature on ecology, the term is used more generally to indicate the time frame for any seasonal biological phenomena, including the dates of last appearance.
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis.
The BBCH-scale is used to identify the phenological development stages of plants. BBCH-scales have been developed for a range of crop species where similar growth stages of each plant are given the same code.
The phenological growth stages and BBCH-identification keys of grapes are:
| Growth stage | Code | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0: Sprouting/Bud development | ||
| 00 | Dormancy: winter buds pointed to rounded, light or dark brown according to cultivar; bud scales more or less closed according to cultivar | |
| 01 | Beginning of bud swelling: buds begin to expand inside the bud scales | |
| 03 | End of bud swelling: buds swollen, but not green | |
| 05 | “Wool stage”: brown wool clearly visible | |
| 07 | Beginning of bud burst: green shoot tips just visible | |
| 09 | Bud burst: green shoot tips clearly visible | |
| 1: Leaf development | 11 | First leaf unfolded and spread away from shoot |
| 12 | 2nd leaves unfolded | |
| 13 | 3rd leaves unfolded | |
| 1 . | Stages continuous till . . . | |
| 19 | 9 or more leaves unfolded | |
| 5: Inflorescence emerge | 53 | Inflorescences clearly visible |
| 55 | Inflorescences swelling, flowers closely pressed together | |
| 57 | Inflorescences fully developed; flowers separating | |
| 6: Flowering | 60 | First flowerhoods detached from the receptacle |
| 61 | Beginning of flowering: 10% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 62 | 20% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 63 | Early flowering: 30% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 64 | 40% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 65 | Full flowering: 50% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 66 | 60% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 67 | 70% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 68 | 80% of flowerhoods fallen | |
| 69 | End of flowering | |
| 7: Development of fruits | 71 | Fruit set: young fruits begin to swell, remains of flowers lost |
| 73 | Berries groat-sized, bunches begin to hang | |
| 75 | Berries pea-sized, bunches hang | |
| 77 | Berries beginning to touch | |
| 79 | Majority of berries touching | |
| 8: Ripening of berries | 81 | Beginning of ripening: berries begin to develop variety-specific colour |
| 83 | Berries developing colour | |
| 85 | Softening of berries | |
| 89 | Berries ripe for harvest | |
| 9: Senescence | 91 | After harvest; end of wood maturation |
| 92 | Beginning of leaf discolouration | |
| 93 | Beginning of leaf-fall | |
| 95 | 50% of leaves fallen | |
| 97 | End of leaf-fall | |
| 99 | Harvested product |