The agroecological potential of clones of Merlot variety

The research presented in this article consists in studying the agroecological potential of the clones of Merlot wine variety (cl. 181, cl. 343, cl. 347, cl. 348, cl. 349) under the conditions of the Mereni wine-growing center, Codru region. The climate changes of recent years have brought more and more challenges to the farmers to study and better understand how high temperatures affect the vine and not only. Increasing variety diversity is an important task that involves both enhancing the quality of selection and improving the varieties themselves. This study presents the results of a research on a series of clones of Merlot grape variety. The evolution of the main phenological phases of the vine vegetation cycle was directly influenced by the climatic, pedological and topographical conditions of the area. Based on the study, it was found that in the conditions of the Mereni wine-growing area, the Codru Region, the mentioned clones of Merlot wine variety recorded a various level of significance of the difference in the values of the analyzed characters, depending on the year and the clone. The Merlot cl. 347 showed a maximum harvest of 18.08 t/ha. The Merlot cl. 348 showed a maximum sugar content of 264.5 g/dm3. The Merlot cl. 347 showed a minimum content of titratable acidity of 8.32 g/dm3.