Extreme canopy management for vineyard adaptation to climate change: is it a good idea?

Botrytis bunch rot occurrence is one of the most important limitations for the wine industry in humid environments. A positive correlation between grapevine growth and susceptibility to fungal pathogens has been found. In theory the effect of grapevine vegetative growth on bunch rot expression results from direct effects (cluster architecture, nitrogen status among others) and indirect ones (via microclimate). However, a reduction in bunch rot incidence can be achieved in some circumstances without major vine growth reduction. The present study was aimed to test the general hypothesis that bunch rot susceptibility is affected by vine vigor, but other factors associated with grapevine vegetative expression could be even more relevant.

Performing accurate vineyard yield estimation is of upmost importance as it provides important benefits to the whole vine and wine industry. Recently, image-analysis approaches have been explored to address this issue however this approach has as main challenge the bunch occlusion, mostly by vegetation but also by neighboring bunches. The present work aims at assessing the magnitude of bunch occlusion by neighboring bunches and to evaluate its dependency on a selection of vegetative and reproductive vine parameters assessed at fruiting zone. Forty vine segments (1 m) of two vineyard plots of the white cultivars ‘Alvarinho’ and ‘Arinto’ were assessed for vegetative and reproductive features at fruiting zone and imaged with a 2D camera.

The French grapevine breeding program for durable resistance to downy and powdery mildew (INRAE-ResDur) was initiated more than 20 years ago to help reduce the heavy use of plant protection products and provide a durable mean to cope with a strong pathogen pressure. This program has now proved to be effective, with about ten new varieties already officially registered. However, there is still a lot to be done (1) to reduce the duration of each breeding cycle, (2) to diversify disease factors’ pyramiding and anticipate emerging diseases, (3) to work towards larger adoption of the new resistant varieties. New breeding schemes incorporating for example genomic prediction of breeding values are being evaluated to accelerate genetic gains, saving cost and time while handling complex traits.

One of the ways to reduce the use of pesticides is to adapt their dosage to the needs of the plant by using variable rate technology for managing field spatial variability. The recent evolution of technologies in the field of robotics, mechatronics and new information and communication technologies

La culture de la vigne dessine un paysage rural original. En effet, de par ses qualités physiologiques, ses exigences agronomiques et les techniques qu’elle requiert, elle est à l’origine d’un portrait de nature sculpté, architecturé, parfois même comparé à l’art des jardins. A ce que l’on pourrait le cas échéant qualifier d’« art involontaire »