Assessing bunch architecture for grapevine yield forecasting by image analysis

The actual climate changes, together with the strong regulation of the European Union and Spanish government, in search of sustainable viticulture, have forced the recovery of minority varieties, expanding the range of grape varieties, as well as the possible development of wines with unique profiles. In the Ribeira Sacra DO (Spain), a comparative study of the agronomic and qualitative behavior of the ‘Branco lexítimo’ variety has been carried out, compared to the majority white variety in the DO: ‘Godello’, located in the same study plot, with identic soil and climatic conditions. The study contemplated the analysis of phenology and leaf water potential, as well as the productive results and the analysis of the must quality, during four seasons: 2018 – 2021.

The increasing frequency of heat waves during grape ripening presents challenges for the production of high-quality wine grapes. This underscores the significance of developing effective irrigation and canopy management techniques to optimize both yield and grape quality.
A field experiment was carried out during 2021 and 2022 using Manto negro wine grapes to study the effect of two irrigation strategies and different light exposure levels on grape quality. In a four-block experimental vineyard at Bodega Ribas in Mallorca, two irrigation treatments—moderate and severe deficit irrigation—were implemented. Within each irrigation plot, three light exposure treatments were randomly assigned, encompassing exposed clusters from pea size, non-exposed clusters, and shaded clusters after softening.

Weather uncertainty is forcing Mediterranean winegrowers to adopt new irrigation strategies to cope with water scarcity while ensuring a sustainable yield and improved berry and wine quality standards. Therefore, more accurate and high-resolution monitoring of soil water content and vine water status is a major concern. Leaf water potential measured at pre-dawn (PD) is considered to be in equilibrium with soil water potential and is highly correlated with soil water content at the soil depth where roots extract water.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most important economic crops in the world. Because of this importance, one finds widespread molecular genetic research on this species, an important element of which is high quality RNA.

Aim: to elucidate if it is possible to detect variations in the source of nitrogen (organic vs. inorganic) measuring nitrogen isotope ratio (δ15N) in berries and to examine the degree of variation occurring for this parameter naturally within a vineyard.