One of the cultures of great importance for the economy of Rio Grande do Sul is the grapevine. Although the productions of wine, grape juice and other products derived from the grape and the wine also occur in other regions, the biggest concentration is found in the northeast region of Rio Grande do Sul. Among the main factors that influence the potentiality of the grape is the precipitation. For the grapevine not only influences the total amount of rains, but also its distribution throughout the vegetative cycle. For these reasons it is of basic importance the study of the precipitation in the northeast region of the State. Among the variables researched which relate the variability of precipitation there is the sea surface temperature (SST). The main purposes of this work are: to identify the standards of anomalies of the SST of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and their relations in the precipitation in the northeast region of Rio Grande do Sul in the months from October to March. Therefore, it was focused the investigation of a possible previsibility of the precipitation with some months of antecedence and consequently a possible forecast of the potentiality of the grape for that region. The results have shown that the first main standard of seven oceanic areas presented a highly significant correlation with the accumulated precipitation of January and February in this region, and consequently, a correlation with the qualitative potentiality of the grape. Also, the high previsibility of the predominant standard in the months of January and February from anomalies of the SST average of October-November was evident.
Variability of precipitation; potential quality of grape; anomalies of SST
