Vines are exposed to environmental conditions that cause abiotic stress on the plants (drought, nutrient and mineral deficits, salinity, etc.). Polyamines are growth regulators involved in various physiological processes, as in abiotic plant stress responses. Stressful conditions can modify grape’s composition, and in this work, we have focused on studying the effect of abiotic stress on the composition of polyamines and amino acids in grapes. In addition, the effect of grape variety on these compounds has been studied.

In this audio recording of the IVES science meeting 2022, Thibaut Verdenal (Agroscope, Pully, Switzerland) speaks about managing nitrogen balance in cover-cropped vineyard. This presentation is based on an original article accessible for free on OENO One.

Organic wines, although resulting from a production method based on the non-use of synthetic phytosanitary products, are not always free of residues. These residues can result from cross-contamination during production in the field or in the cellar, during the production or aging of the wine. In recent years, with the improvement of analysis techniques, a molecule, phosphonic acid, the main metabolite of fosetyl-al (banned in organic farming) is regularly quantified in organic wines and its origin is not clearly identified.

Knowledge of the nitrogen nutrition status of grapevines is essential for the sustainable management of their nutrition for the production of quality grapes. The measurement of the chlorophyll index is a rapid, non-destructive and relatively inexpensive method that provides a good approximation of the nitrogen nutrition status of the vine during the season. Interpretation thresholds are currently insufficient or non-existent for some chlorophyll meters. Ideally, they should be available for each variety and each phenological stage. In order to popularize the use of chlorophyll-meters, measurements were carried out at Agroscope in Switzerland to establish the correlation between the indices obtained by the devices N-tester and SPAD 502.

Soil is a reservoir of microorganisms playing important roles in biogeochemical cycles and interacting with plants whether in the rhizosphere or in the root endosphere. Through rhizodeposition, plants regulate their associated microbiome composition depending on the environment and plant factors, including genotypes. Since the phylloxera crisis, Vitis vinifera cultivars are mainly grafted onto American Vitis hybrids. Rootstocks play a pivotal role in the grapevine development, as the interface between the scion and the soil.